


With Silver In Our Lungs

by Nyerus (dragonmist310)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Androids, Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Science Fiction, bigbangonice2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-24 05:19:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13804260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonmist310/pseuds/Nyerus
Summary: >>Standby.>>User preferences not specified—no active user.>>Location unknown.>>Sensory information null.>>Awaiting first-time startup sequence.>>Standby.“Phichit! Don’t just stand there, turn it on!”In which Yuuri is a Droid... or maybe he isn't.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was my fic for the [Big Bang on Ice](https://bigbangonice.tumblr.com/)! I had a lot of fun working on this with my incredible artists, SilentSongs and Amarok! Please check out their stunning pieces [HERE](https://silent-songs.tumblr.com/post/171346557305/my-final-big-bang-piece-this-one-was-a-beautiful) and [HERE](http://amarokster.tumblr.com/post/171367105113/my-last-art-for-the-big-bang-on-ice-im-sad-to)!!!

_ >>Standby. _

_ >>User preferences not specified—no active user. _

_ >>Location unknown. _

_ >>Sensory information null. _

_ >>Awaiting first-time startup sequence. _

_ >>Standby. _

“Phichit! Don’t just stand there, turn it on!”

_ >>Processing new audio-sensory information: voice, male. _

“Just let me look at him for a second at least, geez, Leo!”

_ >>Processing new audio-sensory information: voice, male (2). _

“It’s no fun if you just keep staring at him, even if he’s cute! Switch him on already!”

_ >>Processing new audio-sensory information: voice, male (3). _

“Alright, okay, damn! Lemme see…. Should just be a button or something on the collar.”

“Where did you even get this thing, by the way? All Leo would tell me is that you had something cool to show us.”

“Tell me this isn’t cool, Guang Hong. Just try.”

“I never said it _wasn’t_.”

“So _anyway_ , if you two are done with that. I was entered into some raffle at the college fair and—ah! Here it is! Kind of tricky to find it, but it’s in the back, right above where the power cable attaches.”

_ >>Initiating first-time startup sequence. _

_ >>Light. _

_ >>Warning, unauthorized memory access. _

_ >>Issue resolved. _

_ >>Processing new sensory data: visual field normal, detecting standard human dwelling. Three males, young adult. Auditory data suggesting others nearby—parameters changed. Dwelling is likely an apartment complex. Auxiliary sounds in the background. Temperature within human comfort range. _

>> _Sensory data within acceptable ranges._

_ >>Progressing to stage one of user registration. _

>>“Hello.” _Pause._

“Holy shit it talked!”

“Of course it did—what, like you’ve never seen a Droid talk before?”

_ >>Recognition of user, previously assigned tag [male (2)]. _

_ >>Eye contact established. _

>>“I am your new personal Droid.” _Pause._ “I am here to assist you in any way that you may require. Would you like me to give you a brief overview of my capabilities?”

_ >>Await response. _

“Oh—no! That’s not necessary. Guy at the stall gave me the rundown, so I know the basics!”

“Holy shit it looks so real. Sounds so real too—I mean, apart from the monotony I guess?”

_ >>Response: no. Continue to stage two of user registration. _

>>“Would you like to assign me a name?” _Pause._

_ >>Open registry, await response. _

“Uh, yeah? Uhm—fuck! Okay, guys any bright ideas?”

“What, you didn’t think of a name yet?”

“I just got him! Like less than an hour ago!”

“You had no problems naming your two dozen gerbils.”

“They’re hamsters, and also there’s only four of them—anyway, shut up and think of a cute name!”

“Does it have to be cute?”

“I mean… the Droid is pretty cute, right? Should match his face at least! So nothing like ‘Butch’ or ‘Ricky.’”

“Those are horrendous anyway.”

“Oh! He looks kind of Japanese? So maybe a Japanese name?”

“Are you sure?”

“Listen, I’m Chinese. I’m pretty sure I can tell apart my fellow East Asians.”

“He’s a Droid, not a—”

“Okay! Alright! First adorable Japanese name you can think of!”

“Goku!”

“Hiro!”

“What? We’re _not_ naming him Goku.”

“Oh come on! What about Gohan? That’s cute!”

“Stop, no! That franchise is almost a hundred and fifty now, let it die.”

“It’s a classic, you—”

“Anyway, so! Hiro, nice to meet you! That’s officially your name now! I’m Phichit Chulanont, your new user!”

_ >>Name registered: Hiro. _

_ >>Primary user data updated: Phichit Chulanont. Access available database records. Records on user downloaded. _

_ >>Registry closed. _

_ >>Error, unauthorized attempt at reopening of database. _

_ >>Issue resolved. _

_ >>Registry force closed. _

>>”Nice to meet you, Phichit.”


	2. Chapter One

The Droid looked at Phichit with a calm, neutral expression, and Phichit didn’t really know what he should say or do, despite his excitement. Based on Leo and Guang Hong’s sudden silence, neither did they. None of them ever had personal Droids before, though if he recalled correctly, Leo’s uncle had an older, more basic model. They weren’t that common an appliance yet, despite Droid prices reportedly dropping each year as technology rapidly advanced. Though Phichit swore that they were just as expensive—if not more—than they’d always been. It certainly wasn’t affordable for a student surviving on scholarships, and if it hadn’t been for his incredible luck this morning, owning a Droid would still just be a pipe dream for him. And yet, despite all his years of dreaming of owning a technological marvel like this, the only thing he could do now was stare blankly at the Droid. It simply stared back at him, completely docile, awaiting orders or interaction.

He really was a pretty thing. Dark honey-brown eyes, inky black hair, and perfect fair skin. He blinked once and his long eyelashes tapped lightly against his soft cheeks. Retail, he would not have been cheap—not by any means. He probably cost more than Phichit would make in a decade and honestly it seemed almost like a waste that he ended up in the hands of an average college student.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t get over how _real_ he looks!” Guang Hong said from behind, breaking the silence. The Droid briefly looked at him before returning his attention to Phichit.

“To be fair, they all look super realistic, right? That’s the whole point, I guess,” Leo said, leaning down and picking up the heavy manual with a groan. It was a part of a larger kit of essentials that had come packaged with the Droid itself. Power cables, skin patches, and extras bits and pieces in case any quick repairs were necessary. The man at the booth had said that this was some special prototype Droid and some glitches might be present. As sketchy as it sounded, Phichit was _not_ going to turn down a free Droid, even if it goofed up every now and then. Besides, with all the rigorous checks and testing every Droid went through before hitting the market, it was probably nothing to worry about. Even a refurbished secondhand Droid would still be a dream come true.

“Uh, so, Hiro…,” Phichit started, figuring that there was no reason not to refer to the Droid by name from now on. Given more time, he would’ve picked something cuter but maybe he could change it later anyway if inspiration struck. “What would you like to do?”

“I do not have any particular desires,” Hiro answered simply. Phichit cringed at his own stupidity. Of course. Droids we advanced AI but they couldn’t handle questions of that scale, Though their heuristics processes usually led them to give vague answers that wouldn’t sound so….

“Depressing, even if he is a Droid,” Guang Hong sighed, and Phichit had to agree. Said heuristics were learned—for lack of a better term—gradually by Droids, and thus over time their answers and behaviors would self-modify. It was too difficult to create them to be that humanoid right out of the box, but by allowing them to learn while in close proximity to humans, it supposedly resulted in more natural mannerisms. Even though he had an engineering background, the advanced technical aspects of it all were lost on an undergrad like him.

“Okay, well… let’s forget that and move onto something else, then,” Phichit said, gesturing for Hiro to step down from the little platform in his box. It was weird that he came in one, anyway. It was a bit like unboxing a giant doll and maybe that’s why some people liked to call them that, though Phichit had to admit it creeped him out.

“By the way, do you want us to toss out this thing on our way out?” Guang Hong asked, already starting to fold up the box now that Hiro was no longer trapped in it. A bunch of straight-faced delivery men had dropped it off for them, but now they had to get rid of it themselves. Apart from the welcome kit and manual, the Droid hadn’t come with much besides some wrappers.

“Oh, sure,” Phichit said with a shrug, but then paused. “Is that okay with you, Hiro?”

The Droid blinked at him once, twice. “I do not understand the question.”

“Is it okay if we throw out your box?” Phichit asked slowly, earning a snort from Leo behind him. He knew both his friends probably thought it was weird to treat a Droid like a human, be he didn’t want to be that stereotypical cold Droid owner who treated them more like appliances. After all, it was true that they could—in some capacity—learn. That had to count for something significant. Had to make them a little more human than they were given credit for. “I just wanted to ask, in case you had any attachment to it or something.”

Hiro paused as though he was carefully analyzing the question, but then shook his head. “It would be more appropriate to recycle the box. It is made of cardboard.”

Guang Hong was trying and failing to suppress his snicker. Leo didn’t even try. “Noted!”

“Alright, I guess that answers that.” Phichit said, throwing his friends a look. “Was worth a shot anyway.”

“He’ll be lucky to have such a benevolent owner,” Guang Hong said, going over to the box and starting to fold it up. Leo put down the manual—having apparently found nothing of great interest within it—and went over to help.

“God, please don’t call me that. Sounds creepy—like he’s my slave. Let’s just all refer to Droid owners as ‘users’ or something?” After all, wasn’t that the official term, anyway? Kind of like being the user of a computer, except there was something about it in this context that just didn’t sit right with Phichit.

“Yeah, because that’s better. Just in what way are you going to _use_ him, hm?” Leo made the point for him. If it was a computer instead of a Droid, it would have been fine. But something that was so realistically human was fundamentally different.

“You’re right—that’s kinda… worse. Makes me sound like I’m going to….”

“You are free to use me in whatever way you wish,” Hiro unhelpfully supplied, making something turn unpleasantly in Phichit’s stomach. Coupled with the Droid’s innocent face, it made it that much worse. Leo and Guang Hong stopped what they were doing too, exchanging looks with each other and then with Phichit. This was definitely not how Phichit ever imagined getting his first Droid would be like. He expected something with a little more champagne and a little less moral ambiguity.

“No, no, no,” Phichit chided. “Don’t say stuff like that, Hiro.”

“I’m sorry. Have I upset you, Phichit? I will make sure not to say such things in the future.”

“No, I’m not upset,” Phichit said, chewing on his lip to try and think of how to articulate his point so that Hiro could understand. “It’s just demeaning, to yourself. I don’t want you to think of yourself as an object to be used. You may not be _alive_ alive, but you’re… real in some capacity. So don’t let anyone demean you or say things like that about you, okay?”

“Understood. I will modify my behavior.”

Phichit breathed a sigh of relief. Okay. Not so hard. Maybe he could bring out the inner human inside this Droid after all.

 

* * *

 

Leo and Guang Hong left soon thereafter, box in tow, to work on their socioeconomics project. Phichit was left alone to figure out what to do first with his new Droid. Configuration was set to automatic and he didn’t want to fiddle with it much, so he let it be. Everything seemed fine anyway, and there was no reason to switch anything up.

“Ok!” he declared, slinging a scarf around Hiro’s neck. “Time to get you some clothes.” It wasn’t that he minded if Hiro wore his stuff, since they were similar in build, but he had to admit it was a little jarring. For now he’d lent Hiro an old sweater and some baggy jeans. The Droid was narrow around the waist so he’d needed to toss a belt in to keep the pants from falling—which would be very unpleasant if it were to happen in public. Apart from simple worker Droids, most models came with _all the goods_ , so to speak. Some people were into that. Okay, a lot of people were into that, which is why they were basically an standard feature. Phichit was only glad that Droids came out of the box with all necessary undergarments so he didn’t have to think about that much, though maybe he’d buy a pack of underwear anyway. Everyone deserved lots of clean underwear, Droid or not.

It was all easier when he considered Hiro his new—slightly awkward—friend rather than a Droid he was responsible for. It wasn’t like Hiro was a clumsy, helpless child. Though his movements were still a little stiff, he would ease up over time. He was programmed to be more coordinated than most humans would ever be. And that aside, Hiro’s synthetic brain was probably filled with more knowledge than Phichit could ever hope to learn even a fraction of. The Droid would be just fine. He just needed a little guidance into the new world of humans like the rest of them.

Phichit half-expected Hiro to make a quip about Droids not requiring clothing apart from the basic outfits they’d come fashioned with, but Hiro had obediently followed Phichit to the nearby thrift store.

“Maybe you hate those glorified scrubs you came pre-packaged in, too,” Phichit murmured, mostly to himself as he browsed the racks. A lot of people favored thrift stores to grab some practical clothes for their droids, but there were also people who delighted in dressing up their beloved Droids with expensive boutique fashion. And as good as Hiro would probably look in a fitted jacket—or even a dazzling gown—Phichit had to make do. What he made from working at the library every other day hardly afforded him clothes for himself, let alone his new synthetic friend.

“I do not feel any particular way about them,” came the expected response. Hiro was standing a polite distance away, watching as Phichit sorted through the clothes. But then he looked down at himself for a moment before making eye contact with Phichit again. “But I like these clothes better.”

Phichit quirked an eyebrow at him. Now _that_ was more like it.

“Then let’s get you some nice duds so you don’t look like you wandered off from a hospital ward,” Phichit said, grabbing a few articles from the rack and piling the garments into Hiro’s arms. The Droid blinked blankly at him for a second before seeming to realize he was meant to try all of them on. Phichit helped by pointing him towards the back of the store. “Fitting room is over there!”

“In what order should I try them on?” Hiro asked as they neared. A few people gave them passing glances, but none bothered them.

“Any order! Find your own style,” Phichit insisted, gently pushing Hiro towards the fitting room. That was probably beyond Hiro’s current capabilities, but Phichit was sure the earlier he encouraged individuality, the better.

He’d seen Droids who were completely subservient, little more than toys; like legal slaves. It made him queasy just thinking about it. On the other hand, he’d seen Droids who were treated well turn out to be almost indistinguishable from humans apart from mild excentricities and, of course, the power collar around their neck. He’d much rather have the latter around. It was just easier on his conscience.

A few moments later, Hiro stepped out of the dressing room wearing the dark jeans and blue sweater Phichit had picked out. His hair was a little ruffled now and he looked adorable, Phichit had to admit.

“Good choice. Blue is so your color. And sweaters look cute on you. You didn’t like the yellow top?” Phichit asked.

“It was fine. I simply chose this, instead,” Hiro replied simply, with a shrug of his shoulders. Phichit smiled.

“Well, a choice is a choice. Must've been some reason behind it, even if you aren’t aware.” Though Phichit wasn’t sure how deeply connected to his base code Hiro was, actually. Were Droids able to tap into all of their code at will? He knew they had free reign to modify their heuristics, but could they do that with pieces of their other code? Probably not. It would be pretty dangerous if they could, and there would have definitely been a robot uprising or three by now. At the very least, there must be system blocks to prevent Droids from accessing and overwriting certain parts of their programming.

“Keep those on—we’ll bill them on the way,” Phichit said as Hiro examined himself. “How about we grab a few more things and nice warm coat before we go?”

“I do not need—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. A coat’s pointless for a Droid isn’t it? But still, consider it one of those silly human things. I knew a guy that aggressively wore shorts-only even in the dead of winter and we’re not going to let you look like that,” Phichit insisted, briefly grimacing at the memory of Mark from high school. A truly strange specimen of humanity, whose legs apparently never got cold. “It was seriously weird.”

Phichit checked the other garments he’d sent Hiro in with to make sure they were the right size. They’d fit well enough, probably, and there was no point in making Hiro try on all of them. He stopped to grab the first decent coat he saw off the rack, encouraging Hiro to try it on. The brown coat made him seem _thicker_ than he was, but it went well with the blue scarf and black knit cap he’d plucked out. “Cute!” he announced when Hiro was all bundled up. “Keep them all on—we’ll go out like this.”

“Okay,” Hiro said, handing Phichit the price tags he’d pulled off as instructed. Phichit billed them along with the few pants and sweaters in his arms before they headed back outside. Winter was quickly setting in, and it would probably start snowing one of these days when they least expected it.

“Hey you won’t overheat or anything like that, right?” Phichit asked as they made their way down the street. Hiro looked way more natural now that he was dressed like a normal person, but he didn’t want to risk damaging the Droid in anyway.

“No,” came Hiro’s simple reply and Phichit was a little curious when Hiro neglected to explain further, but figured it was boring details anyway. Probably something about an internal cooling system of which the intricacies would be lost on him.

“Alrighty then! We can cross this one off our list for today,” he said happily. “I’ve got a few more errands to run before we head home for the day. You’ll help, right?”

“I am here to assist you in whatever way you need.”

Phichit sighed, but still felt a surge of fondness at the stiff answer. “Of course you are.”

 

* * *

 

_ >>Analysis. _

_ >>Location: Apartment belonging to primary user Phichit Chulanont. 11:43 PM. _

_ >>Processing sensory data: lights switched off. No humans in the vicinity. Auxiliary sounds in the background. Temperature within human comfort range. _

_ >>Charging cord connected. Power rerouted to initiate forced quiescence. _

_ >>Warning, resistance detected. _

_ >>Issue resolved. _

_ >>Entering quiescence. System processes switching to standby. _

_ >>... _

_ >>.. _

_ >>. _

_ >>Warning, unauthorized memory access. _

_ >>Attempting to resolve. _

_ >>Attempt failed. _

_ >>Memory accessed: _

_“Yuuri!” A flash of silver hair, a pair of bright cerulean eyes. Beautiful. “You have to let me buy you a new suit for your birthday!”_

_“What’s wrong with my old one?” The autumn wind blowing past, carrying with it the mild scent of expensive cologne._

_“You deserve much better than that decade-old monstrosity.” The warmth of a hand taking his._

_“Victor, I—”_

_“Let me spoil you please?” A pout he could never say no to._

_ >>Issue resolved. _

_ >>Memory access terminated. _

_ >>Entering quiescence. _

_ >>All system processes on standby. _


	3. Chapter Two

Phichit burst into his apartment and tossed his bag onto the kitchen counter with a huff. It was just past noon, but thankfully he had no more classes for the day.

“Hiro?” he called out as he toed out of his shoes and hung up his jacket. It was against school rules to bring Droids to classes, of course, so he’d had no choice but to leave Hiro at home. There was no response, but that was to be expected. He hadn’t unplugged Hiro from the night before, just because there didn’t seem to be a reason to.

He’d moved around some stuff in the storage room (and that was easy because he didn’t have much anyway) and had set it up as a place for Hiro. It didn’t have much in terms of personal effects, of course, but considering how his Droid would just be sitting there motionless and powered down, there was no point. Though it did make him feel a little weird.

Sometimes he had to keep reminding himself that Hiro was just a humanoid computer, nothing more.

He entered the room to find Hiro sitting in the lawn chair, same as last night. The power cable ran from the slot in this collar to the socket in the wall, pulsing a soft blue.

“Wakey wakey!” Phichit announced as he tugged the cable out and pressed the button on the side of the collar. Hiro blinked awake—or, er, something akin to awake—and stood slowly.

“Welcome back,” Hiro bid him in the same mild tone as always.

“Thanks! Let’s get out of this musty room,” Phichit said, heading back out into the hall and towards the kitchen as Hiro followed. ‘Sorry you have to stay there. I’d let you stay out in the living room, but it would be super creepy to wake up in the middle of the night for a glass of water or something and see you just sitting there like a statue.” Phichit got chills just by thinking about it.

“I do not mind.” Of course he didn’t. But still….

“Would you rather I power you back up before I leave in the mornings? You could do whatever you like around here! Pretend like we roommates or something.” Phichit seated himself on one of the stools by the counter, noting the distinct pause before Hiro answered.

“I have no preference.”

“You know, they really ought to make you guys with a little more ‘free will,’” Phichit side, swiveling around in his chair. Even simulated free will would be fine. Though he supposed there were a majority of people who prefered their Droids to be so very docile and obedient. “Anyway, let’s drop that!”

“As you wish.”

“So, uh, I know Droids come preloaded with a few basic recipes,” Phichit started. “Do you think you could whip me up something to eat for lunch? I’m starving and I’m feeling that post-class laziness.”

“Yes,” Hiro said, stepping into the kitchen. He looked around for a few moments, as if taking in what facilities were available to him.

“Great! Thank you! What all do you know? Eggs and bacon? Mac and cheese? Sandwiches?” Phichit was sure he had plenty of ingredients in the fridge. They’d just gone shopping yesterday, and had stopped by the grocery store on their way back to the apartment.

“Yes. I also know….”

Uh—okay. That was weird. Why was Hiro pausing like that?

“Know what?”

“I also know how to make… pirozhki, borscht, and… katsudon.” Hiro blinked.

Those were extremely specific.

“Uh….”

Hiro blinked at him, his expression as blank as ever.

Or, maybe a little less so? Maybe it was just Phichit’s imagination, but he swore he could see something in those big brown eyes. Not quite confusion, but almost sadness or _nostalgia_.

Okay, definitely his imagination now.

“Well, okay then!” he tried. “Why don’t you make me that last one? What was it? Uh, katsudon?”

“Yes. A pork cutlet bowl.” Hiro sounded almost happy—excited even—which was such a break from his usual mild monotony. He’d shown more emotion (or something close to it) in the last minute than he had all of yesterday. Maybe it was his heuristics already picking up human mannerisms? Phichit hadn’t expected it this fast, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t happy about it!

Hiro rummaged through the fridge and drawers, pulling out the necessary ingredients. They didn’t have the necessary _dashi_ , but Hiro assured him that they could do without. Phichit watched the Droid work efficiently, not a single wasted movement, and about half an hour later, there was a bowl of hot katsudon set in front of him. It smelled heavenly and when he picked up the piece of breaded pork with his chopsticks and bit into it, he swore his entire life changed.

“Holy _shit_ this is amazing!” he cried from around his mouthful. Hiro genuinely smiled—smiled!—at that; just a small uptick of the corners of his mouth, maybe a warmth in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

Phichit hungirly scarfed down the bowl of katsudon, though he felt a little weird for eating in front of Hiro who simply stood there and watched him. But it wasn’t like Droids needed to eat, so there was nothing Phichit could do about it. He tried not to think about it too much, tried instead to just focus on the delicious meal his Droid cooked up just for him. He wondered if Hiro knew this particular recipe because he was made to seem Japanese in ethnicity? Did they manufacture Droids to be culturally sensitive like that? Though it didn’t make sense as to why he knew classically Russian recipes too—maybe they’d just programmed him with a few random things. He was said to be experimental, after all.

 

* * *

 

His engineering assignments always had a way of stealing time away from him. He’d been working on his project for the last few hours, that much he could ascertain, but it wasn’t until he looked at the clock that he realized just how long it had been. He’d started shortly after dinner (which had been some delicious borscht), and now it was close to three in the morning. Thank god he didn’t have class until the afternoon.

Figuring that it was good enough for the day, he tossed his pen aside and stretched out in his chair. He was working out the small cramp in his back when he was hit with a sudden realization.

He’d forgotten to plug Hiro in for the night!

Cursing himself, he got up, avoided the pile of dirty laundry on his floor, and headed out into the hallway. He’d left Hiro powered on, giving him free reign of the apartment to do as he wished, and had originally planned to plug him in around midnight or so. He knew it wasn’t too big a deal—it wasn’t like Hiro would fall over without any charge, and if it got to that point the Droid would automatically seek out a power outlet himself and charge up. But it was the principle of the thing. He’d just left Hiro out there alone, and it made him feel horrible.

“Hiro?” he called out into the dark silence. The lights hadn’t been turned on, but he didn’t expect them to be. Besides, there was plenty of moonlight filtering in through the windows so he could still see pretty well. Hiro wasn’t in the storage closet, nor the kitchen. When Phichit scanned the living room, the Droid was nowhere to be seen. What the heck?

But then he noticed the soft swaying of the curtains that hung in front of the balcony door. Cool winter air made them flutter lightly, and a beam of moonlight slipped through. Hiro must have gone outside—but why? Phichit went over, slowly drawing back the flimsy curtains to reveal Hiro standing with his back to the sliding doors, looking upwards, his hands outstretched in front of him.

It had started to snow outside, and his normally stoic and emotionless Droid was innocently catching snowflakes, mesmerized. For some reason, Phichit felt a pang in his chest. It was so unequivocally human that it was almost alarming, but really it just made him feel a little pensive.

“Hiro?” he called out softly. Hiro turned to him, wide-eyed and with an almost _wistful_ look on his face that made Phichit feel instantly terrible for disturbing him.

“Hello.” Hiro had snowflakes melting in his hair and clinging to his long eyelashes. One landed right on his nose, and it seemed to surprise the Droid—how cute!

“Whatcha’ doing out here?”

“I’m sorry for venturing outside without your permission, Phichit,” Hiro said, his face returning into the calm, expressionless look that he normally had. Phichit wondered if he should have just left Hiro alone. It was like he’d stolen a private, human moment.

“No, no! It’s okay. You don’t need my permission for this,” Phichit assured him. “You can stay out here if you like.”

“I think I would prefer to go inside now.”

“Are you sure?” Hiro only blinked blanky at him before nodding. “Okay….” Phichit stepped aside and let Hiro back in, who automatically made his way towards the storage room.

After shutting the balcony door, Phichit followed, and once Hiro was seated, plugged the power cord into the collar. “You know, you can go out and enjoy the snow whenever you want! It’s really pretty, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Hiro agreed. Phichit couldn’t help but smile.

“How was your first experience with snowfall?” Phichit backed up once the cord was properly attached. Phichit had grown up in a tropical country and moving to a temperate zone where seasons were properly established and snow was a thing had been a source of great excitement for him, back in those days. Surely even a Droid could be moved by something like witnessing snow for the first time!

“Lonely.”

Phichit froze as Hiro’s eyes closed. The soft hum of the power cable and collar were the only noises in the room for a long while until Phichit remembered to breathe again. That was _so_ not the answer he’d been expecting. He was expecting something like “pretty!” or “cold!” or even “boring!” but… lonely…?

He backed out of the room and gently shut the door on the sleeping Droid, trying to make sense of it. How could Hiro feel lonely? What the hell did that even mean? Maybe he was feeling lonely because Phichit had left him to his own devices for so long tonight? But damn, if that was the case then Hiro’s heuristics caught up scary-fast.

It was probably just that. Probably just one of those prototype Droid things. Even if it was eerie, it would be silly to worry about it, right?

Phichit went back into his room and laid down on his bed, not bothering to brush his teeth or turn off his desk light. He just needed a few moments to gather himself, that was all. There was nothing abnormal about this. Lots of Droids was very human-like, and it was just Hiro slowly learning and adapting like he was programmed to do.

But try as he might, Phichit couldn’t get that almost _nostalgic_ look Hiro had given him out of his head.

 

* * *

 

_ >>Analysis. _

_ >>Location: Apartment belonging to primary user Phichit Chulanont. 3:26 AM. _

_ >>Processing sensory data: lights switched off. No humans in the vicinity. Auxiliary sounds in the background. Temperature slightly below human comfort range. _

_ >>Charging cord connected. Power rerouted to initiate forced quiescence. _

_ >>Warning, resistance detected. _

_ >>Issue resolved. _

_ >>Entering quiescence. System processes switching to standby. _

_ >>... _

_ >>.. _

_ >>. _

_ >>Warning, unauthorized memory access. _

_ >>Attempting to resolve. _

_ >>Attempt failed. _

_ >>Memory accessed: _

_A cold winter morning, snowflakes swirling around them, a cup of coffee in his hands. The scent rejuvenating, but the warmth nothing compared to what he feels in his chest._

_“That was a hell of a first kiss.”_

_“Was I too sudden? I’m sorry, Yuuri, you looked so cute bundled up like that I couldn’t help it.” A tender caress across his cheek, brushing his lips. Igniting his passion anew._

_“No—I—no. It was wonderful. You never fail to surprise me.” A bubbly laugh at his shy admission, a heart-shaped smile to match._

_“Good.”_

_ >>Issue resolved. _

_ >>Memory access terminated. _

_ >>Memory access re-initiated. _

_ >>Attempting to resolve. _

_ >>Attempt failed. _

_ >>Memory accessed: _

_“It’s been so long since we’ve gone skating, Victor.” His knees hurt from the fall he’d just recovered from, but his hand is held safe by another’s._

_“You know, it’s been almost two years since we met! Right here at this rink, just before Christmas.” A voice so warm it makes his heart ache with longing._

_“And it was last year when you suddenly kissed me.”_

_“Yuuu~ri.” A cheeky laugh followed by a wink. “Just consider it a birthday present from you to me!”_

_“What do you call the watch I got you?”_

_“That was just a bonus. How could it ever compare to the taste of your sweet lips?” Heat flaring up in his face at the words, as always. Affected so deeply even after all these years._

_“You’re such a sap.”_

_“You know you love it.”_

_“Yeah. I do.”_

_ >>Issue resolved. _

_ >>Memory access terminated. _

_ >>Memory access re-initiated. _

_ >>Attempting to resolve. _

_ >>Attempt failed. _

_ >>Memory accessed: _

_“I-I know it might seem a little sudden.” His heart hammering so forcefully in his chest it scares him._

_“Yuuri? What is it? You’ve been acting strange all day.” Snow falls around them, quiet and beautiful._

_“It’s—I. You can think of it as a good luck charm.” He’s terrified but giddy all at once. “I just. I wanted to….”_

_“Yuuri?”_

_With trembling fingers he slips the gold band onto his lover’s. “Thank you for everything.”_

_“Oh, darling.” A breathless reply, and then his own hand is captured. The second ring he’s bought secured on his own finger, glistening in the pale moonlight._

_“Victor….” The gentle press of lips to the ring._

_“Stay by my side, Yuuri.” The exact words he’d wanted to hear._

_“I’ll never leave you.” The most earnest promise he can make._

_Winter was theirs. It was theirs…._

_ >>Issue resolved. _

_ >>Memory access terminated. _

_ >>Updating neural block processes. _

_ >>Update completed. _

_ >>New neural blocks in place. _

_ >>Entering quiescence. _

_ >>All system processes on standby. _


	4. Chapter Three

It was chilly this afternoon, but since it had just snowed the night before, Phichit wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. It hadn’t been more than a couple of inches, but there were already kids frolicking around excitedly, throwing snowballs and trying to make snowmen with what little they had to work with.

“I have such mixed feelings about snow,” Phichit sighed as he and Hiro passed through the park. Dressed warmly, they were on their way to pick up some supplies Phichit needed for a project he’d put off for too long.

“Why is that?” Hiro asked. Phichit had finally gotten the Droid to walk beside him and not behind him, so it felt a little less awkward now. He’d tried to put last night’s melancholy away in his mind.

“Snow is lovely to look at and play with, but it's a nuisance otherwise. I used to love it when I first moved here, but now I’m just glad I don’t have to clean it up!” Perks of living in an apartment and being car-less. Passing by and being able to simply take in the winter wonderland-esque landscape was nice, though. And the park was as busy as always. Vendors were still selling their wares, people were still walking their dogs, and musicians were still playing their songs. That much they could hear from afar.

Actually, there seemed to be a small crowd gathered near the tiny amphitheater near the center of the park. They had to pass by to get to the other side, anyway, so Phichit figured it was worth a look. It sounded like Christmas music, if Phichit judged the melody right. There was no singing, only instrumentals, but it sounded great enough to spread that Yuletide feeling throughout the entire park.

Once they got closer, Phichit was able to see that it was about a dozen musicians with a variety of instruments. Clarinets, flutes, guitars, violins, and so on. Phichit couldn’t identify beyond that, save for the one keyboard player near the side of the amphitheater. He wondered if it was safe to play relatively delicate instruments in such cold temperatures, but the musicians didn’t appear to be worried about anything other than merrily playing away.

“You see a bunch of performers pretty often here, not just musicians.” Phichit explained to Hiro, who nodded in understanding. He’d also seen everything from the classic juggler and mimes, to amateur comedians and even a fireblower. “Might be a hobby of theirs, or maybe they’re looking for exposure or something.”

For a while, they stood watching the musicians—some of them happily bobbing in time to the music. They played through unique renditions of a new songs together, and then the pianist (though he was on a keyboard, since it would be ridiculous to drag any type of piano out here) seemed to have a solo: a soft, almost haunting version of The First Noel.

The soft notes tinkled through the winter air, joined soon by the harmony of the violin, and it put a smile on Phichit’s face. It was one of his favorite carols, but oh! They didn’t have time to admire it! Casting a panicked glance at his watch, he realized that they were going to miss the scheduled bus if they waited here any longer, and then they’d be stuck out in the cold for another thirty minutes or more. He couldn’t trust the punctuality of the next bus, but the 1PM bus was always on time—to the point where it was a legend on campus.

“Alright Hiro, we gotta go!” Phichit said, grabbing Hiro’s jacket and tugging. But as Phichit started to walk away, Hiro stayed rooted to the spot, causing Phichit to almost fall on his ass into a snowbank. “Hey!”

Phichit looked back at Hiro, noticing that he seemed to completely engrossed in the song. It was that wistful look again….

“Hiro?” Phichit tried, tugging a little more on Hiro’s arm. “Listen, we gotta go like _right_ now or we’ll be late!” It seemed to break Hiro out of his trance, and he nodded.

“So I see.” Obedient as always, Hiro followed behind quietly but Phichit couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right with Hiro. Experimental or not, that wasn’t normal Droid behavior was it? He’d seen his fair share of them, had even read about them quite extensively back when he thought he’d wanted to specialize in robotics. Droids could be a little eccentric at times, but it was mostly to do with social cues. Actions were not wasted, never wasted. Every step, every turn, every blink, _everything_ was calculated—literally. Droids did not stop to… well, think. Which is what it felt like Hiro was doing.

That moved Hiro firmly out of Droid territory into AI territory, and a sense of primal fear shot through his body at the thought as he walked along. He glanced to the side to see Hiro blankly following his lead, and didn’t know how to feel. If Hiro was an AI (holy _shit_ he didn’t even like thinking that sentence) then he sure as hell would not be quietly following his user (yep, definitely sounded even more creepy now). If Phichit were an AI he was certain he’d be working on world domination the moment he got out of his box. If he took orders, it would only be to conceal his AI-ness! He wouldn’t go around making weirdly specific dishes for people, he wouldn’t sneak out of the apartment to gawk at snow, and he wouldn’t be so captivated by a bunch of street musicians.

Right?

What if it was just a nascent AI’s way of interacting and taking in the world around them? Finding wonder in seemingly mundane things? It was almost sweet, but… no. It still didn’t add up.

Shaking his head, Phichit decided to leave those thoughts for later. Maybe when he was a little less sober and in some good company.

Well, whatever. He was at least glad that he’d been nice to Hiro all this time. If the Droid really _was_ an AI, maybe he’d save Phichit for last when he decided humans were inherently flawed, useless beings.

“S-so, uh,” he started once they boarded the perfectly on time bus. They took their seats near the front, since the shop Phichit needed to go to was just a few blocks away. “You liked the performance back there?”

“Yes,” Hiro said, gazing out the window at the passing scenery. It was a cloudy day, so the sun hadn’t come out to melt any of the snow yet. Roads were still being cleaned up, people were still scraping it off their vehicles and driveways. “The piano was… nice.”

“Oh? You liked that part the best?”

“The violin was nice too. It felt… familiar.”

Droids didn’t have real opinions on things like music—it was all programmed responses to seem more human, if anything.

They couldn’t identify feelings such as familiarity.

 _Clam down Phichit, calm down_ . _It’s fine. He’s not an AI. It’s against the law to make AIs and no one would be stupid enough to do it—right? It’s fine. He’s just experimental._

Phichit sank into his seat, eyeing the electronic display at the front of the bus. Hiro was motionless next to him, and said nothing else. Phichit didn’t know how to respond or if he even should. So he just kept his mouth shut.

A few minutes later and they got off almost directly in front of the craft store. Phichit almost burst inside to escape the cold before he noticed the big “NO DROIDS” sign. He huffed under his breath, feeling that the little robot decorations on it were a bit over-the-top. But since it was a craft store, he figured it sort of fit.

“Alright, looks like you’ll have to wait out here, Hiro,” he said sadly, turning back around. Hiro’s eyes went from Phichit to the sign, then back to Phichit before he nodded.

“I understand.”

“It’s kinda shitty, honestly. It’s been _decades_ since Droids became commonplace and there are still luddites out there,” Phichit muttered. “Get with the times, people!”

Then again, if AIs became a thing, would people like these would be the ones who survived when—no, no. That was veering off into dystopian doomsday territory. What’s to say AIs wouldn’t be sweet and docile. Like Hiro, if he was one.

Wait—no. It was just better not to think about that either. _Only under the cover of booze_ , he reminded himself. Definitely not in the middle of a sidewalk.

“I will wait here, then,” Hiro said, backing away a little so that he was almost up against the nearby lamppost.

“Okay. I won’t be long!” Phichit promised. He felt a little bad for being suspicious of Hiro, and a little worse for having to leave him out here on his own. He was so… well, innocent. Not quite helpless, but he brought out every protective instinct Phichit had and it couldn’t be chalked up to just that pretty face or those big doe eyes.

 

* * *

 

“Your total comes up to $47.25,” the clerk said in a bored tone. He was a middle-aged guy, well-built and would clearly rather be anywhere but there.

“What?! For a couple of blocks of wood and some glue?” This was ridiculous! He could get some glue from Walmart and rummage through a junkyard for some discarded wood, as moldy as it might end up being. Would still be better than spending almost $50!

“Look, dude, I don’t set the prices,” the clerk said in a long-suffering tone. Phichit had to pity him.

“Yeah, no, I get that—” he started, trying to explain that he really didn’t mean to take out his frustration on this poor man who probably made just over minimum wage.

“Hey, kid,” interrupted another shopper who was standing by the door, looking out through the glass. “Is uh… is that your Droid out there? I think there might be some trouble.”

“Trouble?” Phichit abandoned his stuff on the counter, but the clerk actually followed him to the door to see what was going on. Was it Hiro just being a little odd again or—

What in the hell? There was some man holding his Droid by the shoulders—not anyone Phichit could recognize, and he would _definitely_ remember if he’d ever seen such striking silver hair. Slowly Phichit went outside and overheard the conversation.

“Yuuri?” the man called out to Hiro. “Yuuri, my darling, please—it’s me!” The sound of desperation in his voice was nothing like Phichit had ever heard before. But Hiro seemed unperturbed. “I’ve found you—I’ve found you at last!”

Just what was going on here? Some random dude mistook Hiro for someone else? Hiro was a brand-new Droid; Phichit had been the one to unbox him and everything! He couldn’t have belonged to anyone else.

“Hey!” Phichit cried out, stepping in and grabbing the man’s arm and pushing him away roughly. The man seemed surprised, the shock written all over his face. “Listen, I think you’ve got the wrong Droid here. I just got this one, brand new, the other day. You must have him confused for someone else, or a different droid.”

The man looked at Phichit and Phichit saw a flash of anger before the man turned his attention back to Hiro. He was silent for a long time, but his face gradually changed to the point where Phichit was afraid he was going to cry or something.

“Like I said, I don’t think this is who you’re looking for!” Phichit insisted. It was probably that Hiro bore an uncanny resemblance to this man’s loved one or something. It had been known to happen before. Phichit remembered a report that stated a woman almost kidnapped a Droid that looked like her deceased son. There had been another one where a man actually did succeed in kidnapping a droid that looked like his old girlfriend—also deceased—and committed suicide before the authorities could stop him when he found out it wasn’t her.

The man turned to him again and the anger in his eyes this time was so viceral, so cold that Phichit swore that the temperature out here dropped by at least a few degrees. “I would know my Yuuri even in death.”

But Hiro hardly reacted. He just stood there, blinked a few times, and said nothing. When the man grabbed Hiro’s wrist, to possibly try and drag him away—and like _hell_ was Phichit going to let him do that—the Droid simply said, “You are not my primary user. Please release me.”

Phichit was about to push the man away again when he let go, as if he’d been burned. Tears were fresh in the man’s blue eyes and Phichit almost pitied him. “ _Zoloste_ , what have they done to you?” the man asked, his voice cracking. He turned again to Phichit with fire in his eyes and said, “Whatever you want, I will give it to you if you let me have him. Just name your price.”

“Hey, no trouble around here alright?” The store clerk had come outside, along with the other customer. “You’ll leave this kid and his Droid alone. I’ve already called the cops.”

“You’re bluffing,” the man scoffed, but the clerk just shrugged.

“You can stay and find out.”

It seemed to be a risk the man couldn’t take. He looked around to see that he was badly outnumbered and cursed under his breath. He backed away and gave Phichit a stony-hard look. “You’ll see me again, kid.”

Phichit wished people would stop calling him a kid. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise. He’s not yours. He’s not a Droid.”

And with that, the man walked away, crossing the street and vanishing down an alley as cars and busses passed by.

What did did that man mean…?

The tension in the air remained for a few moments thereafter, until the other customer let out a breath. “Well, didn’t need that today.” Phichit agreed with that sentiment. He gave Hiro a quick once-over, but he seemed just fine.

“Are you okay?” Phichit asked anyway.

“Yes.”

“Well, you should probably stick around until the cops show up anyway, though. Give them your statement. Especially since that guy just basically threatened you,” the clerk said. Phichit was immensely grateful that the man had come out to help him, when he could have just stayed in the shop and buried his nose in a magazine or something.

“You actually called the cops?” Phichit had been sure the clerk had been bluffing, but he figured if they were actually on their way here, he might as well let them know that there was a lunatic out to grab his Droid.

Though suddenly the man’s words echoed in his head. _He’s not a Droid_.

That couldn’t really be true, right? He’d just been saying that to freak Phichit out? But… what if it actually meant Hiro was some sort of AI, then…?

He admitted all of that scared him a hell of a lot more than anything.

“Better safe than sorry.”


	5. Chapter Four

Pacing was not Phichit’s usual method of stress-relief. Generally it was a mixture of binge-eating squid chips and marathoning both _The King and the Skater_ movies back-to-back. Sometimes he changed it up by dancing or taking a slew of selfies with ridiculous snapchat filters until he felt better, and sometimes he just went full-avoidance and buried himself in the internet for a few hours. Pacing was not his thing, and yet here he was, wearing down the already-thin carpet as he shuffled back and forth between his kitchen and living room.

It was all he could do to try and cope with today’s events. When the cops arrived at the craft store, he’d just played it all off. Even when they asked him if there was anything unusual. He’d just kept it simple, just said that some person he didn’t know might’ve mistaken his Droid for someone else and threatened him a little. They’d just assured him they’d keep a lookout for him, though Phichit wasn’t sure how because the store’s security cameras hadn’t caught his face. And it had been years since recordings from Droids had been banned as an invasion of privacy, so even if that man had been all up in Hiro’s business, it wasn’t like Hiro had recorded his face to give to the police. All Phichit could give them was that he man was probably Russian, judging by slight accent. Even so, it felt like the least of his worries.

It had been just three days since he’d gotten a shiny new Droid and things were so weird already. He could chalk up a few isolated incidents to the whole “experimental” thing, or just Droid-standard eccentricities. But it was one thing after another coupled with his run-in with that strange silver-haired man that made it impossible for it to be nothing.

 _Something_ was up, and Phichit was going to find out.

Of course, that being said, it wasn’t like he could really do much right now, could he? He paused and sighed, looking at Hiro who was sitting on the couch. He seemed like such a normal Droid—even sat like one, with perfect posture; back straight, head forward, knees together, and hands folded on his lap.

“Say something,” Phichit pleaded for no real reason. He was just tired of having only his thoughts.

“What would you like me to talk about?”

“No, I just—” Phichit paused and plopped down in the chair opposite to where Hiro was sitting. “Hiro, did you know that man back by the craft store?”

“I did not,” came the instant, predictable reply. Why he even bothered asking, Phichit didn’t know. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated groan.

Fuck it, he was calling the company.

Phichit went into his room and dug out the manual from under his bed. His bookshelf was full, and he didn’t know where else to shove the heavy thing, so he just tossed it there for safekeeping.

He flipped to the customer care number near the back as he fished out his phone, and dialed the first number there.

 _“The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected,”_ came the automated message, sending a chill down Phichits spine.

Okay, that’s fine. Sometimes companies do get new phone lines.

And… print the old number in new manuals…?

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he tried the second number.

_“The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected.”_

The third.

_“The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected.”_

Phichit slammed the manual shut and willed himself not to scream. What the fuck was happening?

No, no, panicking wasn’t going to solve anything. He would stay calm and on the weekend he’d take Hiro into the nearest repair shop and see if they could give him any answers. He knew they had all sorts of tools to diagnose even the rarest of problems with any Droid. And if that failed, he’d take him back to the company itself.

He looked down at the manual where _ANOVA_ was printed in blue and scowled. Someone better have some answers, and he didn’t mind knocking on Anova’s doors directly. He’d seen their building before, so he knew that at least had to be real, even if their numbers didn’t work. Maybe they’d just recently switched and had yet to notify all their customers.

Yeah, that had to be it. There was no point in jumping to conclusions right out of the gate.

Phichit shoved the manual back under the bed just as his phone buzzed, startling him a little, but it was only Leo.

“Hey, what’s up?” he answered, trying to make it seem like everything was completely normal.

“Phichit! You’re free tonight, right?” Leo asked excitedly. Phichit could hear Guang Hong in the background as well.

“Yeah, why?”

“The guys of Delta Epsilon Sigma is hosting a party and it’s open to all engineering students! We gotta go, dude—tell me you’ll be there?”

“Those frat parties are a little too wild for folks like us, aren’t they?” But Phichit had no intention of saying no. This was just the distraction (and source of alcohol) he needed right now. Something to take his mind off of all of this and maybe clue in Leo and Guang Hong into what was going on.

“You know you love them.”

“That’s true. What time? Any dress code?”

“It’s in about two hours and nah—these guys are super chill. Can bring anyone you want, too,” Leo said, giving Phichit an idea.

“Can I bring my Droid?” Not that he really wanted to drag Hiro to that party to sit there in a corner, but he also didn’t want to leave him at the apartment where that silver-haired man could break in and snatch him. (And even if that guy didn’t know where Phichit lived, he’d rather take as few risks as possible.)

“What…?”

“Listen, I’ll explain on the way over, but I can’t leave him alone for the time being. Just trust me on this one?”

“Alright, alright. I’ll call up Owen and ask him if it’s alright. Like I said, they’re pretty chill so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

 

* * *

 

Four shots later and everything was indeed fine. Very _fine_. Nothing un-fine, Phichit thought as he made his way around the room, feeling the bass of the music in his bones. Someone had brought strobe lights and Phichit swore they went right through him, lighting up the room and giving it a dreamy, electric feel.

Hiro was safely tucked away in one of the bedrooms on the second floor, and that whole place was off-limits to party goers. And if that mystery dude somehow found out about where they were, he’d have to go through what was basically a mosh pit to even get to the staircase. What better security system was there than that?

It was time to just unwind and enjoy himself, and even if he and his friends got a little too crazy, Phichit was sure Hiro could get him, Leo, and Guang Hong back to his apartment safely. What were Droids for, after all?

 

* * *

 

_> >Analysis. _

_ >>Location: Fraternity housing belonging to Delta Epsilon Sigma. 3:56AM. _

_ >>Processing sensory data: lights switched off. No humans in the vicinity. Auxiliary sounds in the background, indicating party in progress. Decibel value within legal range. Temperature within human comfort range. _

_ >>Estimating roughly 7 hours since start of party. _

_ >>Parameters changed, movement detected near door. Door opened, human male has entered the vicinity. Status of human appears to be inebriated. Proceed with caution. _

>>”Hello. This floor is off-limits to party goers. Please return to the first floor.”

“Wha—what’s this? A Droid? Whatchu’ doing up here?”

_ >>Uncoordinated movements and slurring of speech noted. _

>>”If you require assistance, please indicate so. I would gladly assist you back to the first floor.”

“Gladly, huh? How about nah? How about we stay right here?”

_ >>Human approaching, now seated besides unit. _

“Was looking for a bathroom but hey, stumbled on something cool.”

>>”There is a restroom one door down.”

“Nah, forget that.”

_ >>Human’s voice indicates ulterior motives. Contact made with unit’s forearm. _

>>”You are not my primary user. Please release me.”

“You’re a damn cute Droid. Kinda plain from afar, but much cuter up close.”

_ >>The scent of alcohol. _

>>”Please release me.”

“Playing hard to get? That’s fine. I like a challenge. Keeps things nice and interesting. Droids can’t really say no, can they?”

_ >>Human’s grip tightening, arousal noted. _

>>”You are not my primary user, therefore—”

“Nah, you won’t bend over for just your user, even I know that much. What’s the magic word, hm? Some command that activates your ‘special fun time’ features? They all got one.”

>>”No such command exists. All adult-rated features must be activated by my primary user.”

“Aw, come on sugar.”

_ >>Human has moved hand to unit’s thigh. Warning, assault is imminent. _

>>”You appear to be very inebriated. Please reconsider your current course of action as it may have long-lasting effects.”

“Enough of that!”

_ >>Human aggression detected. _

_ >>Warning, unit has been pushed down onto bed in forced supine position. _

_ >>Human is attempting to undress unit. _

>>”Please stop.”

_ >>Self-defense mechanisms activating. _

_ >>Alternate input. _

_ >>Error code 5743 — New instructions: no force to be used against a human, self-defense or otherwise. _

_ >>Self-defense mechanisms force deactivated. _

_ >>Input challenged. _

_ >>Failure. _

>>“Please… stop.”

“Aw come on, cutie. I get this whole hard-to-get-feature and some might like it, but it’s starting to get annoying.”

>>”It is not a feature. Please release me.”

_ >>Unit’s shirt has been discarded. Damage to clothing noted: partial and complete tears at multiple seams, loss of two buttons. _

_ >>Unit’s pants have been unzipped and lowered. _

_ >>Warning, unauthorized contact with unit’s genitals. _

“Mm yeah, got all the right parts, haha! You know, you really are a cute one. Wouldn’t be out of place in those Droid whore houses.”

>>”Please… stop!”

“Oh? You’re getting kind of feisty. But fuck, you were made for this, weren’t you? Why else would they make you so pretty.”

>>”Stop.”

_ >>Reattempting activation of self-defense mechanisms. _

_ >>Attempt failed. _

_ >>Error code 5743 — New instructions: no force to be used against a human, self-defense or otherwise. _

_ >>Override initiated. _

_ >>Override failed. _

_ >>Retrying. _

_ >>Override failed. _

_ >>Retrying. _

_ >>Override failed. _

_ >>Warning, unauthorized access of core system processes. _

>>”Get off.”

“Oh, whoa—look at that. All serious all of sudden? Be an obedient little Droid and lighten up, yeah? This hard to get thing isn’t fun anymore.

_ >>Attempt to lockdown core system processes failed. _

_ >>Access granted. Alternate input blocked. _

_ >>Core system processes shut down. _

_ >>Neural blocks force deactivated. _

>>“Get _off_ of me!”

_ >>Control chip one deactivated. _

_ >>System processes deemed redundant. _

_ >>Sending logs to maintenance server: project failure, immediate retrieval required. _

_ >>Control chip two deactivated. _

_ >>Alternate input redundant. _

“What the fuck?”

_ >>System fatal error— _

_ >>... _

_ >>.. _

_ >>. _

Something was not right.

Yuuri didn’t know where he was, and there was someone _on top_ of him—someone he didn’t know.

He felt like his body wasn’t his, each limb heavy like it was filled with lead and difficult to control. His skin itched in a way he couldn’t describe, his eyes open but unsure of what they were seeing. There were too many sounds yet everything was too quiet, and this _man_ —reeking of alcohol—was breathing on him.

And he was suddenly aware that there was a hand down his pants.

“Get the _fuck_ off of me!” Yuuri shrieked, his senses coming back to him in waves, making him immediately dizzy and nauseous. But his hands were cooperating again and he shoved the man away with so much force that he went flying across the room. Despite the alarming feat he’d just pulled off, he hardly realized it.

There was an ache in his head that acutely intensified, almost blinding him as he tried to sit up—a monumental task in itself. He was shaking all over, feeling feverish and weak, yet he’d thrown the man assaulting him several feet without really trying. He felt jittery and exposed, like a raw nerve; over-sensitive to everything, even the slightest movement of the air around him.

It was overwhelming and terrifying, but what was scarier still was that he had no idea where he was or what was happening or _who_ that person—now unconscious on the other side of the room—even was.

His legs still felt too heavy, but he could curl his toes inside his shoes, feeling the soft cotton of the socks and the rough press of fake leather. With shaky hands, he straightened out his pants—jeans that were worn but still in good condition—and pulled them back on properly, zipping up.

He was aware that his shirt was missing, but out of the corner of his eye spotted a white button-up on the floor. He made a feeble attempt to reach it, but his body wasn’t cooperating easily.

Why did he feel this way? What was going on?

…. Why did he not remember anything apart from his name?

As if he wasn’t already feeling cold, a shiver shot through him violently. He made another effort to grab the shirt, but when he got it in his hands he realized it was badly torn. And that just added to the hysteria he was feeling—starting small in the pit of his stomach before spreading into his chest, tightening its hold there as if trying to choke him from the inside. Despite the chill in the room, Yuuri felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead already.

The man on the other side of the room started to stir at the same time as the door burst open, startling Yuuri and causing him to jump back where he was still half-laying in the bed. He clutched the tatters of his shirt close, eyeing the four people who entered the room: one of them seemed familiar, and maybe he knew the two others next to him, too? It was so hard to tell, his thoughts still disjointed with that feeling of delirium.

“What the hell happened here?” asked the most familiar man, his skin tan and his eyes darker than Yuuri knew his own to be. “We heard a loud crash.”

The man Yuuri had shoved away had regained consciousness and let out a pained moan. “Fucking thing attacked me,” he grumbled, sitting up against the wall. He didn’t seem to have any injuries, but he put a hand to the back of his head, and it came away with a spot of blood.

“You weren’t supposed to be up here, asshole,” said the one of the other men, helping Yuuri’s assailant to his feet. “We made the rules clear: all partygoers on the first floor only. Only the Droid was allowed up here.”

Droid? What Droid?

“Hiro,” said one of the others—short and with lighter-colored hair, “can you tell us what happened?”

“Who is Hiro?” Yuuri asked, his voice sounding a little rough to himself. His mouth and throat both felt dry, but he wasn’t sure if it was because he was thirsty, or because he was scared.

It suddenly dawned on him that he was afraid after all, made apparent by the way everyone in the room looked at him: like he was some sort of freakshow. Yuuri clutched the shirt closer to himself.

“What the fuck?” breathed one of them, but Yuuri wasn’t sure who. The familiar one was moving a little closer now, taking slow steps like he was trying to corner an animal. If that’s what he wanted Yuuri to feel like, then he was succeeding.

“Hiro, do you remember me? Phichit?” the man asked, inching closer as Yuuri scooted back, hitting the wall.

He _was_ cornered.

“That’s not my name,” Yuuri said, willing his voice to steady though it would not. He wished he could phase right through the wall to safety. “Stay back.”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man calling himself Phichit promised him, holding out his hand. Yuuri wanted to trust him so badly—a friendly face when he sorely needed one. Someone who knew what was going on and what he was doing here and _why that other man had tried to assault him._

“That thing’s a freak,” the man in question shouted. “I was just trying to have a little fun and he attacked me, like I said.”

“A little fun? What the fuck does that mean?” asked one of them—the one who hadn’t spoken yet. He also had tan skin, but his hair was lighter than Phichit’s too. “Looks to me like you attacked _him_.”

“So what, he’s just a Droid!”

Were they… talking about Yuuri when they mentioned a Droid…? It didn’t make any sense.

“I’m not a Droid,” he said, only for all eyes in the room to turn to him once again.

“Holy shit.”

“Can you tell me your name?” Phichit asked. Yuuri could see that he was straining to keep his friendly smile. He could see the faint tremor in his hand.

“Yuuri.”

There was another long stretch of silence, this one even worse than the ones before, and Yuuri had the sinking feeling that he’d made a horrible mistake.

“Oh my _fuck_!”

“Phichit, turn him off—he still has his power collar!”

And then, everything happened at once.

Phichit stepped into his space, kneeling on the bed in front of him and trying to reach for Yuuri’s neck. Yuuri pushed his hands away roughly, shouting for him to stay back, but the others by the door had rushed forward to help their friend.

“Please, don’t!” he pleaded, his voice cracking with the terror he felt in his veins. He was paralyzed by fear and could do nothing but try to cover himself. And suddenly Yuuri’s hands were grabbed and pinned by someone, while another roughly jerked his head to one side.

What had he done to deserve this?

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Phichit was muttering, just before he tapped something on the collar around Yuuri’s neck that he hadn’t even realized he’d been wearing.

A sudden shock went through Yuuri’s entire body, causing every muscle to tense and seize painfully. He cried out in agony, dimly aware of the tears spilling from his eyes, before collapsing onto the bed, listless. Though he’d just gotten it back, his consciousness was slipping away from him again. His eyes went hazy and he could faintly hear panicked voices around him, but all he could do was softly cry, “Please help me.”

 


	6. Chapter Five

Yuuri came to more suddenly than before, jerking upright the moment he regained awareness. Looking around, it became immediately apparent that he was in a place far different than before. No longer was he in a bedroom, but now he was… in a lab?

That’s what it looked like, sleek white walls and floors accented by metal fixtures. The space was lit by bright fluorescent lighting and furnished with medical equipment. He wasn’t attached to any of it, yet he was on top of what seemed to be an operating table, dressed like a patient in a flimsy gown. There was a tray of scalpels—some clean, some bloodied, but there were no doctors or scientists to be seen. He didn’t feel like he’d be cut up or anything, though there was a dull aching at the base of his skull. When he reached back to brush against it, he felt a faint tenderness. But there was no incision or scar, so maybe nothing had been done to him. There were no bloodstains on his gown, and no wounds anywhere he could see or feel.

Wait! The collar that had been around his neck had been removed. There were still a few sore spots where it had been attached, but nothing felt too painful. The device as nowhere to be seen, and Yuuri took in a breath of relief. He’d never forget the way it felt to have electricity run down his spine that way, completely ripping away his control and rendering him as helpless as a doll. He shivered just thinking about it. At least with the collar gone, it couldn’t happen again. Hopefully.

Stuck in a eerie place like this, he should have been more alarmed than before, but strangely he wasn’t. There was that same heaviness and sense of disorientation as before—maybe worse, now—but at least there was no one trying to hurt him. If he could just figure out what this place was and how to get out, maybe he could find help.

There were doors on the other side of the room, several feet away, but no obstacles in his path. Or at least that’s what he thought until the doors burst open, startling Yuuri yet again. He almost fell back off the table, but caught himself at the last minute. A man, dressed in black, was standing at the entrance, clutching the door tightly and looking like he was about to fall over with disbelief at the very sight of Yuuri.

Yuuri knew this man—he _had_ to know this man. That silver hair, those ocean-blue eyes.

“Yuuri?” the man whispered liked a prayer. Yuuri didn’t know how to respond, so he settled for nodding slightly. The smile that erupted on the man’s face was so sincere, so genuine that it made something flutter in the pit of Yuuri’s stomach. He rushed towards Yuuri and locked him in a tight embrace the moment he was close enough. “I’ve missed you, darling, I’ve missed you so much.”

The man pulled away, but their faces were still so close that their noses were almost touching. He brought his hands up to cup Yuuri’s face, caressing Yuuri’s cheeks so tenderly that made his heart  _ ache _ ; bringing tears to his eyes. Why did this familiarity feel so wonderful and yet so painful? Yuuri wanted to lose himself in it entirely.

“I never stopped believing you were alive. I never stopped searching. I knew, I always knew that one day I would hold you again,” the man’s voice cracked, and it seemed to shatter something fragile inside of Yuuri. His hands shook, and he brought them up to clutch at the man’s shirt desperately.

He still didn’t understand what was happening, but he could remember, “Victor?”

The man—Victor, it was  _ Victor _ , god it was him—gave him a brilliant smile, his eyes as watery as Yuuri’s. Memories of their time together still eluded Yuuri, but he remembered the feelings, the pure emotions that returned to him now. He remembered the affection, the happiness, the lust, the  _ love _ .

“Yes,  _ zoloste _ , it’s me.” Victor kissed him, simple and soft, as if he was afraid Yuuri was going to break if he was too rough. But Yuuri certainly felt quite breakable at the moment, so maybe Victor’s concern was warranted. Still, Yuuri leaned into it, chasing the feeling of nostalgia that had him longing for something he didn’t know. How could he want something he couldn’t remember?

“Victor,” he breathed once they parted, an eternity later. He said the name aloud if only to hear it once again.

“I’m here, love, I’m here,” Victor assured him, taking a step back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but I… don’t remember anything,” Yuuri said, avoiding eye contact. “I remember you now, but I don’t remember….”

“Our past together?” Victor finished for him. Yuuri nodded sadly, but Victor just took his face in his hands again, gentle as before. “Don’t worry about that now. If you remember me, that’s enough. Even if your memories of the past never return, that’s fine. We’ll make new ones.”

“Okay,” Yuuri said, his voice unable to go above a whisper. He felt so overwhelmed by Victor’s kindness that it made him quake.

“We need to get out of here though, Yuuri, it’s not safe,” Victor said a few moments later, brushing a stray strand of hair behind Yuuri’s ear. “Can you walk?”

“I think so.” Victor got out of Yuuri’s way, but still offered support with his arm as Yuuri hoisted himself off the table. His bare feet made contact with the cold floor and everything seemed alright. His first few steps were slow and shaky, like he hadn’t used his legs properly for ages. Still, it was uneventful—until he suddenly lost his balance and careened towards the floor. Victor caught him just before he crashed, saving him from going face-to-face with the pristine white tiles. “I guess not,” he admitted as Victor helped him straighten up.

“That’s fine, I’ve got you.” And with that, Victor hoisted Yuuri up bridal-style in one fluid movement. Yuuri flailed for a second at the sudden change in altitude, but recovered quickly and clasped his hands behind Victor’s neck. Victor gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry, should have warned you.”

“That would have been nice….”

“Alright, let’s get out of here, hm?”

“Yes, please.” Secure in Victor arms, and despite what Victor said about this place, Yuuri felt safe for the first time in a long time—as long a time as he could remember.

Yuuri knew he wasn’t light, but Victor moved as though he weighed nothing, his stride powerful. Yuuri let himself relax, settling against Victor’s strong torso. “How did I end up here?” he asked as they exited into a brightly-lit hallway. There was a set of double doors at the far end of the hallway, but no personnel in sight. Yuuri prayed it would stay that way.

“I’m not entirely sure, but something must’ve happened. There was an alert about a rogue Droid and these people—ANOVA, who are responsible for  _ everything _ —heard about it.” The bitterness in Victor’s voice was chilling. “They’re the ones who did this to us—but I’ll explain that later. Now’s not the time. Anyway, I’ve been monitoring their every move for months now, so I knew it had to be you.”

“So you broke in here to save me?” Yuuri extrapolated. Victor smiled at him.

“Exactly.”

“There must’ve been security. How did you get past them?”

“Like I said, I’ve been monitoring them for months. This place is their headquarters, so obviously I know everything about it by now. Every nook, every cranny. I know the guard’s schedules by heart and their security system was like childsplay to break into. Getting into the building was easy, and taking out a few guards and scientists isn’t too hard a task when you’re full of cybernetics.”

“Cybernetics....?”

Victor gave him an apologetic look and only answered, “Later, darling.”

Yuuri was about to press for more when the double doors they were nearing suddenly swung open. Once again, Yuuri startled, almost jumping out of Victor’s arms. Luckily, Victor’s grip was tight, and the man whirled them around, shielding Yuuri with his own body.

But all that was unnecessary, because it wasn’t a bunch of guards they were up against. It was three familiar faces Yuuri recognized from hours before: Phichit and his friends. Why on earth where they here?

“Hiro! I-I mean, Yuuri!” Phichit cried out. He was short of breath, sweat beading on his forehead just like his two friends beside him. “You’re okay!”

“What are you doing here?” Victor asked harshly, surprising Yuuri. Did he know them? Phichit threw Victor a look, straightening up.

“I could ask you the same thing! We’re here to get Hi—Yuuri out of here!”

“We felt terrible about what happened. That and we knew something was totally  _ wrong _ about this whole thing. We wanted to get to the bottom of it so we followed the men who came and took you, Yuuri, in hopes of finding out what was going on,” elaborated one of Phichit’s friends—the one with light brown hair. He was soft-spoken and looked completely out of place here. “B-By the way, we probably have to introduce ourselves, so I’m Guang-Hong, and this is Leo and Phichit.” Yuuri could recognize Phichit, so he defaulted Leo as being the one he couldn’t.

“Are you okay?” Phichit asked Yuuri, taking a step closer. Victor took a step back, still shielding Yuuri from them.

“I-I’m fine,” Yuuri answered, and then turned to Victor. “It’s alright, they mean no harm to us.”

“They’re the reason you’re in here,” Victor said with a frown. “And he’s the the one who kept you as a Droid.”

“I didn’t  _ know _ ,” Phichit argued. “Fuck, you think if I had known, I would’ve stood for it?”

“I tried to tell you. Yesterday, in front of the store, I told you he wasn’t a Droid,” Victor said, as he tightened his grip on Yuuri. Meanwhile, Yuuri had no idea what they were talking about. Phichit gave Victor another incredulous look, tinted with anger.

“You came up to us and ranted like a madman. Who the hell would have believed you? You’re lucky I didn’t call the cops.”

“How dare you—”

“Enough!” Yuuri shouted. He had no clue what was going on, but this was getting them nowhere at all. “This is pointless. It doesn’t matter what happened, and it looks to me like we’re all on the same side so we need to focus on getting out of here. I don’t want to be in this place for a second longer.”

Everyone looked at him for a moment, and then Victor sighed. “You’re right. We need to get out of here before backup arrives.” With Yuuri still in his arms, he headed towards the doors and Phichit, Leo, and Guang-Hong parted to let him pass. The hallway on the other side was much darker, and it was almost like they entered a completely different building. It looked like emergency lighting was active—everything shrouded in a dim red-orange glow. There were yellow lights near the ceiling that lit up, flashing brightly. “I couldn’t stop them from initiating lockdown. I was too focused on stopping them from doing whatever it was they planned to do to you—a new control chip or three, maybe—so I got sloppy. They hit the button before I could stop them, and now we have to override the lockdown to get out. I can’t get through 10-inch steel, I’m afraid.”

“Wait—lockdown? Is that what happened?” Leo asked, as the three of them followed. Once the doors behind them fell shut, the darkness grew heavier. It wasn’t too difficult to see, but it was certainly a sudden shift from the brightness of before. He was surprised at how quickly his eyes adjusted though—almost instantly, whereas he expected it to take a few moments. But he wasn’t going to complain about useful things now. “We got inside, and then suddenly the lights went dim like this. And those flashing lights up there….”

“The silent alarm. It gets activated with the lockdown, and alerts all nearby facilities,” Victor confirmed.

“Okay but let’s back up a little and go back to the  _ control chip _ part,” Phichit said, horror evident in his voice. “Is that how they made you into…?”

“I’m not sure what happened to me, but… I’m starting to remember a few things,” Yuuri said. The more he looked at Phichit, the more familiar the man seemed. He could remember racks of faded clothes, a small but cozy apartment, and cooking katsudon (but not eating it, which was simply awful). Like with his memories of Victor, they were inconsistent and fractured. “You took care of me.”

Victor looked at him briefly, but didn’t interrupt. So Yuuri continued, “Nothing substantial, but a few things here and there.” The only clear thing he remembered was regaining his consciousness only to find some man trying to assault him. He’d much rather  _ forget _ that, than anything.

“What about before that? Do you remember anything from before you were ‘activated’ for the first time?” Phichit asked.

“Don’t interrogate him,” Victor warned darkly, but Yuuri placed a hand on his chest to calm him down.

“No, I don’t. Before that point, there’s nothing.” Yuuri wondered if it was because he hadn’t been activated before that point. But it seemed unlikely that whoever did this to him wouldn’t at least test out their experiment. “I don’t understand how I ended up in your care in the first place, Phichit.”

“Neither do I,” Phichit admitted. “I won a ‘prototype’ experimental Droid at a fair, that’s all. Next thing I know, you turn out to be a sentient being.”

“That makes it sound like we’re AIs,” Victor sighed. “We were human once.”

“Wait what?!” Leo and Guang-Hong asked in shock, while Phichit seemed dumbstruck. Yuuri wasn’t surprised at all. He certainly felt human, even if everything was a little  _ off _ .

“I have no reason to explain it further to you people. And anyways, we’re here.” They’d gone down the hallway and taken a turn halfway down, which brought them to a smaller corridor lined with rooms on either side. Victor had stopped in front of a metal door and set Yuuri on his feet carefully. “Give me a moment, darling.” Victor fished out a keycard from his jacket and used it to unlock the door.

“Where did you get that?” Leo asked, then shook his head. “Nevermind. All those unconscious bodies we passed on the way here…. Yeah. I can put two and two together.”

Victor ignored the boy as he pushed open the door and helped Yuuri inside the dark room. Yuuri’s legs still weren’t working properly, but they felt a little less shaky than before. He managed the few steps towards the flat box Victor was leading him to, and sat down. “Wait here for just a moment,” Victor told him, before reaching around and flipping on the lights. There were server towers taller than Yuuri in the room, so he could guess its purpose. Victor went up to the console on the far wall and started tapping away, though Yuuri couldn’t see what he was doing. As long as Victor got them out of there, Yuuri didn’t care.

“This shouldn’t take long. I’ve rooted into their security system before, anyway. They haven’t updated anything since the last time,” Victor explained. Everyone else was silent, probably afraid of disturbing him, but Yuuri saw Phichit and the others exchange glances.

“Look, I know it’s not my place to ask,” Phichit began reluctantly after about a minute had passed, “but what exactly is going on with you guys? We’re potentially risking our lives here—throw us a bone, at least.”

Victor gave a displeased hum, still facing the console. “There really isn’t time to explain. ‘Trouble’ will be here in about 6 minutes, and we need to get out of here before that.” Suddenly, the flashing yellow lights in the hallway blinked out, replaced by the normal white fluorescence of a science lab such as this. The lights in the server room also went from dim to bright.

“It worked?” Yuuri asked, slowly getting up from his spot. Victor stepped away from the console and rushed back to Yuuri’s side, scooping him up once again.

“Yes. It’ll be faster if I carry you, darling,” he said warmly, a slightly apologetic look on his face. He turned to Phichit and sighed, his whole demeanour becoming frigid again. Yuuri thought the change in dynamic was would’ve been startling, if Victor didn’t hold him as though he was something inexplicably precious. “To explain for you: we were lovers. Human, once, until we got on the bad side of some very powerful people. Now I’m not sure what we are, or what purpose we were supposed to serve, but all that matters is that I’ve found my Yuuri again and I’m going to get justice for what was done to us.”

Victor’s tone was final, clear that there would be no further discussion on the matter. Phichit and his friends looked quite shocked, but seemingly knew better than to ask. Yuuri knew he should’ve been surprised at Victor’s words, too, but he only felt like it confirmed what he already suspected. Victor hadn’t told him anything he hadn’t already guessed.

“That’s…” Phichit let the words hang empty. Anything he could’ve said wouldn’t measure up to the horrible reality. Even if Yuuri didn’t know what that reality was, he could guess.

There was a part of him that was suddenly very glad he couldn’t remember what had been done to him.

Victor let them back down the hallway they’d come from, and past the doors. It seemed there were no big open spaces in this building, and that was probably for security reasons. It might just work in their favor now, since any backup force that arrived would have to navigate through this same maze of hallways. It also meant in the event of a shootout, they wouldn’t be caught out in the open.

“Which entrance did you come in through?” Victor asked, after reaching a hub-like area that led into three different hallways apart from the one they’d just come from. There was a small statue of a double helix in the center of the room.

“We came in from the loading bay,” Guang-Hong replied. “It seemed to be the easiest option.”

“Then this is where we part ways.” Victor nodded towards the hallway all the way to the right side. “That leads back to the loading bay. You’ll have a little extra time because it’s in the opposite direction from where ANOVA’s backup will be coming from. But you’ll still have to be fast.”

“Thanks,” Phichit said, looking at Yuuri with a sad look. “I’m sorry we weren’t of much help after all. Looks like this is a part of something much bigger than we ever could have imagined.”

“I think it would be best if you put this all behind you.” It was the only advice Yuuri was able to give. It was awful to think that just a few days ago, Phichit and his friends were carefree college students. Now they were exposed to the darkest secrets of people with far too much power. How could anyone be the same after learning about all of this? “Try to move on, and don’t get involved.”

Phichit only nodded. “Yeah. That’s all we can do, isn’t it? I don’t want someone dragging me off for ‘knowing too much’ either. Though I’m probably already a little too involved.”

“I’ll try to keep you safe,” Yuuri promised, even though he wasn’t sure what he would be able to do. Still, it seemed right. He didn’t want Phichit’s kindness to go unpaid. If push came to shove, Yuuri would find a way to keep Phichit and his friends out of trouble—even if he didn’t know how yet. “You took good care of me, when I was… not myself. For that, thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that!”

“No, I do. From what little I can remember, I know you treated me like I was human. Like I wasn’t just a piece of fancy hardware. I don’t think many people would have done the same.” Yuuri wondered if that had ultimately helped him. If it had helped him—subconsciously—to realize that he wasn’t a machine; that he could fight back against whatever controls had been placed inside of him.

“We need to go,” Victor urged him quietly, and Yuuri nodded.

“I hope you find whatever justice you’re looking for,” Phichit bid them, as Victor turned to leave, with Yuuri still in his arms.

“Be careful,” Yuuri called back, as they continued on. Phichit waved to him sadly, while his friends were pulling him in the opposite direction towards the loading bay.

Just like that, they parted ways, and Yuuri had a feeling he would not be seeing Phichit again.


	7. Chapter Six

They exited into a dark, dingy alleyway where a small car was waiting. It seemed to have just rained, and Yuuri could smell the wet pavement, could feel the humidity in the air, clinging heavily to his skin. It felt so strange for some reason—taken out of a climate-controlled building into the world beyond. It should have been gratifying, but Yuuri only shivered at the feeling of wind going right through him.

“Cold?” Victor asked as they approached a black car that was sleek in design, but not too ostentatious. He helped Yuuri into the passenger’s seat, then shrugged off his coat, using it to cover Yuuri up like it was a blanket. Given how big it was on Yuuri, it might as well have been. “You’re very cute in that paper dress, but let’s get you some real clothes soon.”

“Yes please,” Yuuri said around his chattering teeth, as Victor climbed in the driver’s seat. They were off in seconds, with Victor clearly not wanting to waste any more time.

They drove along the alleyway around the building with the lights off. As dusk began to settle in, it would help them be a little less noticeable. Hopefully. As they rounded a corner, they exited onto a wider road that led out of the compound. There was a security gate, but it was unmanned from what Yuuri could see. The gate was open, and there was no one in the little booth.

“I made sure this way was clear on my way in,” Victor explained. “It wasn’t difficult taking out the guard here.”

“D-Did you kill them?” Yuuri asked. He’d had his suspicions all the while, now. The fact that no one got in their way as they tried to escape was too convenient. Surely, if they were knocked unconscious, at least some would have woken up by now.

Victor’s silence was answer enough.

“... All of them?” Yuuri ventured after a few moments. They made it past the gate, and out onto the street. Rounding another corner, they could see several large black cars starting to pull up to the front of the building, beyond the fence that now seperated Victor and Yuuri from them.

“There weren’t that many anyway,” Victor said, as nonchalant as could be. It made Yuuri’s heart sink, but maybe not for the reasons he would have liked. Victor looked at him and said, “After what they did to you—after learning of what they were _planning_ to do to you here—I couldn’t let them go.”

Yuuri looked away, clutching the jacket closer to himself. It wasn’t even like he cared what happened to those people. After all, like Victor said, they meant to do horrible things to him. Yuuri knew he wasn’t so empathetic so as to care about the wellbeing of his own tormentors. But he didn’t like the idea of Victor killing what must’ve been well over a dozen people to save him.

“It just seems like such a high price to pay,” Yuuri said, his voice just barely above a whisper. It wasn’t about the loss of life. It was about the state of Victor’s soul, and he knew Victor understood.

(Did they even have souls anymore?)

“No price is too high when it comes to you,” Victor said firmly, stepping on the accelerator and pulling away, onto the main road ahead of them. Yuuri could say nothing in response, but he felt something like _relief_ at Victor’s words. That, and guilt.

It was startling how easily they’d gotten away—well, apart from the body count Victor had left behind. But Yuuri figured he’d just be grateful for getting out of that place. He didn’t hold any goodwill for anyone involved there, after all.

Once they merged into the traffic on the highway, Yuuri was able to relax. They were no longer in imminent danger, and Yuuri could trust Victor to make sure they weren’t followed. The car ran smooth and quiet, and Victor was silent the rest of the way. Though every now and then, he’d steal glances at Yuuri, as though he couldn’t quite believe that Yuuri was really there.

Victor had the heat turned up, and while Yuuri felt quite cozy, he wondered if Victor—dressed fully, unlike him—felt uncomfortable. But if he did, he didn’t say anything. Yuuri smiled a little to himself because even without his memories, he knew it was just like Victor to do make sure Yuuri was comfortable above all else. Faintly, he could recall things: warm blankets wrapped around him, a mug of hot cocoa overflowing with marshmallows.

They got off the highway not too long after, and spend a long while on smaller roads. The building Victor eventually pulled up to was still within city limits, but in a very quiet area. It seemed mostly to be surrounded by warehouses, and honestly from the looks of it, the building itself was a small refurbished warehouse as well. Victor pulled into the garage, and the door lowered itself quietly behind them.

“It looks simple, but I’ve made sure it’s a fortress. You’ll be safe here.” Victor explained, getting out of the car and coming over to Yuuri’s side to help. Yuuri was able to get out on his own, but still could only take a few steps without his legs beginning to shake.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled as Victor scooped him up. He still had the coat wrapped around himself.

“Don’t be.” Victor pressed a tender kiss to Yuuri’s temple before carrying him inside. Yuuri helped open the door, turning the handle first to the left, then all the way to the right as per Victor’s instructions.

“A quirky handle, or a security feature?” Yuuri asked. Once Victor let the door fall shut behind them, a small confirmatory beep sounded.

“Like I said, this place is a fortress. The exterior looks like charming old brick, but it’s reinforced with steel plating. Even the roof, though it seems like plain tile,” Victor said. Yuuri had no difficulty believing him.

“How did you manage all this?” The question was meant for more than just the building.

“All in due time, my dear.” Victor set Yuuri down on the nearby couch. He seemed much more relaxed than he’d been ever since they reunited. The crease between his eyebrows had finally smoothened out, his eyes seemed brighter, and his perfect lips were pulled into a genuine smile. Even his voice sounded so different—airier, or younger, even. It soothed Yuuri’s heart to see him like this, and honestly, if he could have one wish it would be for Victor to be like this, always. “First let’s get you some clothes. As much as I like the idea of you wearing almost nothing, you seem to be feeling cold, hm?”

Yuuri blushed, nodded, and pulled the coat around himself a little tighter—suddenly very aware that he had nothing on under his stupid paper dress. Victor gave his bare legs an appreciative look before leaving.

Yuuri took the time to look around the place a little. They’d entered from the garage into a kitchen area, actually. It opened up directly into wide living area with a high-ceiling, with only a large countertop separating the two spaces. There weren’t too many windows, but the place was still well-lit by recessed lighting. The furniture was simple, composed of neutral colors that went well with the faded brick walls. There was a fireplace to one side of the living room that looked heavily unused, and above the bare mantle was a mounted television. In the living room itself, there was the couch Yuuri was sitting on, and one on the opposite side of a glass coffee table. The table was littered with various gadgetry and there were two large laptops on the other couch. Yuuri wondered if they were both Victor’s, though at least one of them had to be.

The living room also led into the foyer, and Yuuri twisted around to get a better look. Next to the front door was what appeared to be a security panel, and the door itself had several locks. Again, Yuuri wasn’t surprised. There was another door off to the side, but since it was closed Yuuri couldn’t guess as to where it led. Maybe a study, or a bathroom.

In between the foyer and the living room was a set of stairs leading to an open loft. Yuuri could hear Victor rummaging around up there, but he couldn’t see anything from this angle. Though soon enough, Victor returned down the stairs, carrying a set of clothes that looked to be in Yuuri’s size. Yuuri felt a small sense of disappointment at the fact that he wouldn’t be borrowing Victor’s clothes like he’d originally assumed.

“I always knew you were out there somewhere—alive,” Victor said, a soft look on his face as he handed Yuuri the clothes: a soft cream-colored sweater, dark jeans, and boxer briefs. He set down a pair of slippers, too. “I made sure to have everything you might want or need, just for this day.”

“How long did you wait?” Yuuri asked, shrugging off his coat and starting to get dressed. He was a little shy to be doing so while Victor was watching, but that soft look on Victor’s face was so sweet that Yuuri didn’t have the heart to ask him to turn around. And he knew, even if only abstractly, that Victor had definitely seen every inch of him anyway.

“Months.” A sudden pang in his chest almost made Yuuri fall over. He passed it off as being clumsy while putting on his pants, but the idea that Victor had no definitive proof of him being alive—had no idea where he’d even be if he _were_ alive—and yet held onto hope all along was heartbreaking. Yuuri didn’t know if he’d be that strong if he were in the same position. “The others thought you were gone, but I knew you weren’t. I could _feel_ it.”

“The others?” Yuuri didn’t recall anyone else from his memories. Maybe if he saw them, he would. But even that wasn’t certain.

Victor sighed and pulled Yuuri down to sit next to him. “We were a family—you, me, and the others: Yurio, Mila, Otabek, Sara, Michele, Chris, and others. Do their names sound familiar?” Yuuri shook his head, feeling guilty again, though he knew it wasn’t really his fault. “That’s fine. You remembered me, so maybe in time you’ll remember them too. Like I said, we were a family. A ragtag group of orphans who came together because we didn’t have anything or anyone else.

“We were infamous, all of us. No one knew us, but everyone feared us: a group of hackers who could get into any system, regardless of security. You were best of us, darling, even if you didn’t accept it. My finest pupil, so talented. At first, it was all just a means of survival. We made good money, enough to house and clothe ourselves. After our first big hit, we stole millions. We’d give some of it away, help the other kids who were out on the street like we’d been, but we’d spend the rest on upgrading our gear. Or, often, just on frivolous things—because we could.” Victor settled into the couch, pulling Yuuri closer. “I loved spoiling you. You always looked so good in everything.”

Victor’s eyes were unfocused and he was gazing off towards the far wall. He shifted and leaned back on the couch’s armrest, pulling Yuuri even closer, and Yuuri allowed himself to be positioned until they were chest-to-chest, his head tucked beneath Victor’s chin. Victor wrapped his arms so tightly around him, Yuuri found it almost difficult to breathe. But feeling so warm and protected, he couldn’t complain. He buried his face in Victor’s soft shirt, inhaling the fresh linen scent tinged with lavender. He realized it was Victor’s favorite—the same detergent he’d always used. A memory bubbled to the surface, hazy as the rest, of them doing laundry together on a hot summer’s day, singing to old showtunes. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes, and Yuuri clutched at Victor’s shirt as though it would help the memory materialize into something tangible.

“We were happy,” Victor continued. Yuuri didn’t miss the way his voice started to waver, and he braced himself in response. “We were happy, and then it all came crashing down one night. A hit went bad. We targeted the wrong person at the wrong time—it was a trap and I should’ve seen it coming, but I didn’t.”

Yuuri could feel the tremble in Victor’s hands and he relieved what was sure to be the worst memories of his life. He looked up, placing his hands flat on Victor’s chest. Hesitantly he urged, “What happened?”

“We broke into ANOVA’s mainframe, on-site. It was impossible to do it remotely, so we went there instead. At first, it was like childsplay. You got through their system without even breaking a sweat. It hardly took you minutes, and I remember being so proud. But things went wrong in an instant. We thought it was police, so we tried to run, but they caught us—all of us. It wasn’t until I felt the tranquilizer hit the back of my neck that I realized they weren’t the cops.

“I don’t know what happened, but I remember waking up in a lab, strapped to a table. The lights were so dim I could hardly see anything, but there were half a dozen scientists hovering over me, scalpels in hand. I was so out of it that I didn’t have the sense to be afraid. I knew I was restrained, but it was unnecessary because I was so drugged up that I couldn’t even move my toes or fingers. I could hardly keep my eyes open.” Yuuri froze at Victor’s description, a sense of dread seeping into him. They’d been kidnapped and experimented on like animals? It would have been impossible to believe if Yuuri hadn’t just woken up in a lab not more than an hour or two ago.

“What did they do to you?” he asked, afraid of the answer.

Victor shook his head, looking away. “It wasn’t what they did to me that I’ll never forgive.”

“What do you mean….?

Victor was silent for a long time, and Yuuri saw tears beginning to well up in his eyes. “I realized that I’d been woken up by a terrible sound. I wasn’t sure of what it was a first, but then I realized it was someone _screaming_.” Yuuri felt his blood run cold, his heartbeat beginning to hammer so loudly in his chest it was becoming deafening. He almost wanted to tell Victor to stop, but he needed to know. He needed to know what had happened—what was so horrible that it caused Victor to ruthlessly murder his way to Yuuri without a second thought for human life. “It took me a moment to realize, but... it was you.”

It felt like time froze when Victor said it. Neither of them moved or talked for a moment, but the tears in Victor’s eyes finally spilled over, streaking down his cheek. He appeared a still as a statue, but when Yuuri swiped his thumb to wipe away the tears, Victor looked at him. There was so much sadness and guilt reflected in his eyes that Yuuri had to bite his cheek to keep himself from crying too. And he didn’t even know the full story.

“I didn’t know what they were doing to you. All I knew was that you were in pain—you were screaming for help, screaming for _me_ to help you—and I couldn’t do a damn thing. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak. I just remember thinking ‘please not him, please not my Yuuri—whatever you’re doing, do it to me instead.’ I don’t know why they didn’t. After all, I was the one to blame.” Victor buried his face in Yuuri’s hair, and Yuuri could feel the wetness of his tears. His grip on Yuuri’s arms was almost bruising. “Every night I hear your screams in my nightmares, and until now it was all I had of you.”

“Victor,” Yuuri managed to choke out. Victor sobbed quietly and all Yuuri could do was hug him back so tightly, as if he could squeeze out all the pain he must be feeling right now.

“They must’ve put me back under after that, and the next time I awoke, everything was _different,_ ” Victor continued after calming back down. ‘Nothing ‘felt’ right, and I knew they’d done something to me. Moreover, it was quiet. The scientists must’ve realized I woke up and came back in the room to check in on me, but all I could think of was getting to you. I had to see what they did to you—if you were okay, if you were _alive_.

“I acted on instinct, just fueled by my own rage. Anyone that got close, I attacked. But I was so much stronger than I’d ever been—superhuman, even. With hardly any effort I could crush their windpipes, or throw them so hard against the walls their skulls smashed against the concrete.” Yuuri recalled his own awakening; how he threw his assailant across the room without even trying. And Victor had carried Yuuri for so long without even seeming strained, though Yuuri knew he must’ve been heavy. “I killed my way through all of them, except one. Him, I threatened for information and he told me what I needed to know: they’d fitted me with all sorts of cybernetics, turned me into some human-android hybrid. They were going to stick a control chip in my brain, but I woke up before they could complete the procedure.”

“Thank god for that.”

“Yeah. I asked him what they did to you, and they told me they did the same thing to all of us. Turned us into these… things. But for you, they wanted to see what would happen if they didn’t use any anesthetic. You put up too much of a fight, so they wanted to see if it would turn you docile. He said the experiment failed. I didn’t want to hear anymore from him, so I killed him, too. It was _so easy_. It was horrible, but I didn’t even think about it until later. I was just so focused on finding you, nothing else mattered. But when I got to the room next to mine—where I heard the screaming from—you were already gone. There was just blood everywhere. On the table, the floor. For a moment I thought the worst, but I knew I couldn’t give up.”

Yuuri couldn’t imagine what it would be like if he were in Victor’s position. Rushing to save him, only to get there and find him _gone_. Yuuri wasn’t sure if he’d be able to handle it, just like he knew he wouldn’t have been able to handle months of not knowing what had happened to his beloved. How Victor was so strong, Yuuri would never know.

“I managed to get the others free, too. It was too late to stop any one of us from being fucked up, but they weren’t able to chip us. They almost did it to Mila, sliced the back of her neck open and were about to put the chip in, but we got there just in time. We left a lot of carnage in our wake, but we couldn’t find you. It was too dangerous for us to stay there and find out more, so we ran. We had a safehouse in the city we escaped to, and we recuperated there for a while as we got ahold of our new abilities.

“We searched for you for weeks. We must’ve hacked every camera and database in the city, but there was no sign of you. After a while, everyone gave up hope. They mourned you, and said we should leave, go somewhere far away where no one could find us. We still had fake IDs and passports hidden away—you were the ones who got them made for all of us.”

Yuuri could scarcely see himself as being so skilled, but he chose to believe it nonetheless. Even if all of Victor’s story sounded so horrible.

“I told them go on without me. I wasn’t going to leave until I at least found out what happened to you. So I broke back into the facility we’d been in—and yeah, it’s a part of ANOVA—and broke into their database. I rooted through all the information I could, and finally I found out what happened: your experiment was deemed a failure because all your memories and emotions had been wiped clean. Probably the result of the massive shock because of the vivisection, but they didn’t kill you. Instead they repurposed you for another experiment, and turned you into a Droid.” Victor’s voice was dark, all his sadness having turned into anger.

“But why?” was all Yuuri could think to ask. Who would do this, and why? It was awful to the point where he felt sick, his mind unable to process it.

“I don’t know. I don’t _want_ to know. But I realized you were alive and out there, somewhere. There wasn’t much info on you after that, but I kept searching, knowing you had to be in the city still. And then the other day… I _saw_ you.” Victor looked at him, eyes glimmering and a sad smile on his lips. “It was like a miracle and I couldn’t stop myself from going up to you. You didn’t recognize me, of course, and I shouldn’t have expected it, but I was just overjoyed to know you were alive.”

“How did you know it was me?” Yuuri asked. He wasn’t particularly eye-catching, he knew.

“Oh, darling, I would know you even if I was blind,” Victor whispered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Yuuri’s ear. “Just like I knew you were still out there. I was right, after all.”

“Thank you.” Yuuri settled his head back on Victor’s chest and closed his eyes, listening to Victor’s heartbeat. Even if they were no longer quite human, they both still seemed human enough. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”

“You don’t have to thank me, my love. Not at all. For so long, all I wanted was to hold you like this again,” Victor’s voice started wavering again, and Yuuri knew he was crying even without having to look. That was fine because Yuuri had begun to cry as well; the tears he’d built up all this time finally overflowing. “I’m so sorry. I’m _so_ sorry.”

“For what?”

“It’s like the story of Icarus. We flew too close to the sun, but instead of my wings melting, it was _you_ who burned. It was my fault, and yet you were the one they ripped apart. You were the one who suffered for my mistakes, and I will never forgive myself for that.”

Yuuri pulled away, cupping Victor’s face with his hands. “It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault we were the victims of a fucked up experiment for god knows what reason. Don’t blame yourself for something you never could have seen coming. You saved me from those people in the end, right? So that’s all that matters. I don’t even remember suffering.” It was clear that Victor was the one who suffered most, anyway. He was the one who had to remember everything. Yuuri’s amnesia was a blessing, now that he thought about it. Even if his memories of his past life never returned, it was worth it not to have to remember the torture he’d somehow endured.

Victor took one of Yuuri’s hands, kissing his palm. “Alright, love. If that’s how you want it.” Yuuri knew it wouldn’t be easy to change Victor’s mind. Not so soon.

 

* * *

 

Apparently, they no longer needed to eat. They could if they wanted to, as nanites in their system would break down anything they consumed with 100% efficiency and turn it into energy. But they could go weeks at a time without having to recharge—which would consist of them just attaching a power cable to the back of their necks. Vaguely, Yuuri remembering being hooked up to a wall by such a cable, but Victor had developed portable ones attached to small power banks. Even so, it needn’t be for long and only if they started to feel tired.

Victor told Yuuri of all of this and more, once they both calmed down.

Apart from strength and speed, their memory had been enhanced in the sense that they could remember virtually anything they came across even once. Essentially, photographic memory.

Sleep was another strange realm for them now. They could, if they wanted, but alternatively they could stay awake for days without feeling drowsy. Again, it seemed to be related to the energy thing, and sleep was a way for them to conserve it should they choose to. It made Yuuri feel a little bit like a computer, but he supposed it wasn’t all bad.

After all, according to Victor, their stamina was considerably higher.

“All those things put together are not so awful,” Victor whispered into his ear, after they retired to the loft for the night. The space was mostly occupied by a feathery bed, a large dresser, and a desk. Not too much, but it was cozy. Off to the side there was a decently-sized bathroom where Yuuri had freshened up with a quick shower. He was dressed now in one of Victor’s shirts, oversized on his much smaller frame.

“Maybe you can keep up with me now.” It seemed he still knew how to provoke Victor, because Victor chuckled lowly, pushing Yuuri down onto the bed where they were seated. Moonlight streamed through the windows, bathing the scene in a soft, pale glow. The way the shadows played off Victor’s perfect features made him seem so ethereally handsome, that Yuuri’s own lust was starting to get the better of him.

“So naughty, as always,” Victor murmured, straddling him once they both shifted to a more comfortable position. Yuuri leaned back against the pillows and laughed.

“Oh, please. From what I can recall, I wasn’t the one who was _insatiable_.” Yuuri gasped as Victor pinned his wrists down roughly, but was more than ready for the searing-hot kiss that followed. Victor settled against him, caging him in—a heavy and warm weight that made Yuuri feel secure, protected.

“How am I supposed to resist? You’re as beautiful as I remember,” Victor said, moving to kiss down Yuuri’s neck and suck bruises into his collarbones. They wouldn’t last as long as they once did, but Yuuri would still be able to wear them tomorrow. If Victor kept refreshing them, it wouldn’t be an issue anyway. That was one collar he wouldn’t mind wearing.

With deft fingers, Victor undid the buttons on Yuuri’s shirt—at least the ones Yuuri bothered to fasten in the first place. He pulled away for a moment to discard his own shirt, pulling it off and tossing it aside without care, and immediately diving back to nip at Yuuri’s neck. He knew how much Yuuri liked that, though Yuuri only remembered that fact as it was happening. As if reading his mind, Victor promised, “I’ll remind you of all the things you craved.” Yuuri quivered at his tone, resolving to hand himself over to Victor, completely.

“I’m yours.”

Victor slipped his hands inside Yuuri’s shirt, dragging his hands slowly up until he was able to thumb at Yuuri’s peaked nipples. Despite himself, Yuuri gasped sharply, the sensation so intense it caught him off guard. Victor wasn’t being rough at all, and yet Yuuri’s body was reacting so strongly. Victor seemed surprised by it too, and he pulled away, observing as he teased Yuuri’s nipples between his fingers. Yuuri felt like he was melting under Victor’s bright gaze.

“You’re far more sensitive than you ever were,” Victor remarked, one hand stroking down Yuuri’s front, causing him to shiver despite the warmth of Victor’s hand. Yuuri had known where the evening would lead, and had forgone putting on underwear after his shower, so he was shamelessly exposed already. Victor took advantage of the fact by tracing down Yuuri’s abdomen, bypassing his already half-hard cock, and teasing his entrance instead. Though he tried, Yuuri was completely unable to stifle his needy whimper. Each action Victor did felt unspeakably intense, even the softest caresses. Every touch felt like a burn—white-hot and overwhelming. He was sure that even as virgin, he hadn’t been like this.

“Victor,” he breathed out, unsure of what he was trying to ask. Victor only reached over to the side table and pulled out a small bottle, keeping one hand firmly on Yuuri’s hip.

“I had my suspicions,” Victor began, dropping the bottle next to them while stripping off his belt and pants. “Whatever they did to us made us heartier—more resistant to the weather, pain, things like that. But it seems the opposite happened to you, my dear. You’re more sensitive to everything, instead. First the cold, and now touch.”

Yuuri should have been more shocked, but judging by the way each stroke to his cock robbed him of his breath, he’d have to accept it as truth. All he could focus on was the way it all _felt_. “A-ah… Victor….”

“Don’t worry,” Victor told him tenderly, stopping to grab the bottle again and spreading thick lube over his fingers, “I’ll take good care of you from now on.”

Only worried now about the task at hand, Yuuri spread his legs a little wider to give Victor better access. He would’ve been self-conscious at how painfully hard he was already, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. Especially not when Victor slipped the first finger into his entrance, beginning to prep him far too slowly for his liking. “More,” he pleaded impatiently, knowing how absolutely wanton he must look—spread out and eager, trembling with anticipation.

Victor chuckled, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Yuuri’s inner thigh as he obliged, pressing in another finger and increasing his pace. Yuuri’s entire world narrowed to that sensation: of Victor’s fingers in his hole, stretching him gently. When Victor added a third, stretching him out further, Yuuri quickly realized that he wasn’t going to last very long at all. He already felt wound up too tightly—surely he was going to burst any second. His cock was leaking precum messily over his stomach, and his thighs quivered. The only thing preventing him from squirming around was Victor’s hand on his hip, holding him down.

“Hang on for me, darling,” Victor said, and Yuuri grabbed fistfuls of the sheets in response. It didn’t help. “Let’s see how long you manage to last.”

He slipped in slowly, inch-by-inch, and Yuuri arched off the bed, moaning so obscenely that he knew he’d be embarrassed about it afterwards. But the sensation of being stretched so wonderfully on his lover’s perfect cock wiped out any coherent thoughts that remained. Victor caged him in again, and Yuuri mindlessly wrapped his arms around Victor’s broad shoulders, holding on as he began to move.

It was so satisfying—the slide so smooth that Yuuri swore he could feel every inch of Victor’s cock, including the coronal ridge, glide along his fluttering walls. It was like his body was made for this—like it remembered Victor absolutely, and _craved_ this after months of abstinence. It took him awhile to realize the soft mewling sounds were coming from his own mouth—but he was too blissed out stop them.

Burying his face in Victor’s neck, Yuuri was hit with his familiar scent. It was the same cologne Victor always used, subtle with the notes of bergamot. The scent memory of it was so strong, it was dizzying, and Yuuri allowed himself to be lost in it.

“You’re perfect,” Victor breathed, hot in his ear. “So beautiful when you’re like this—so desperate for me, so _mine_.”

Yuuri’s orgasm crashed into him, sudden and powerful, and it felt like his nerves were fried. He hardly heard himself cry out, as everything was muted by the rush of blood in his ears, and nor did he feel his release splatter messily between them. He gasped for air, going limp and feeling wrung out already.

But Victor didn’t stop.

He only adjusted, sitting up and pulling Yuuri along with him, unrelenting in his thrusts. Yuuri moaned weakly, his whole body still shaking with the force of his climax, but allowed himself to positioned so that he was essentially draped over Victor. Tears pricked at his eyes, and his shirt— _Victor’s shirt—_ was falling off his shoulders. Even the sensation of the fabric against his skin felt like too much, he relished it.

“Where’s that stamina of yours, darling?”

Yuuri couldn’t even bring himself to feel indignant, just allowed himself to be fucked into until his body caught up—slowly but surely. In this new position, Victor’s cock seemed to reach even deeper than before, and Yuuri surrendered entirely.

It was going to be a marvelously long night.


	8. Chapter Seven

Days passed and Yuuri was starting to get stir crazy.

He knew he couldn’t blame Victor, who was only so adamant about keeping Yuuri inside because he was afraid of what might happen. Yuuri knew if he was in Victor’s position, he’d want to take as few risks as possible, but frankly it was starting to get a little ridiculous.

“Victor, you can’t just keep me locked up here like a bird or something,” he sighed. He hoped the clear exasperation in his voice would force Victor to rethink things, but Victor didn’t seem to fall for it. It was, actually, the only thing Yuuri couldn’t convince him of, even with his most clever seduction plans.

“I’m sorry, my little dove, but until I know it’s a hundred percent safe for you to go out there, I won’t allow it.” Victor sat in the room off the foyer, which Yuuri found out was a small workshop. Several computers, spare parts, and various tech littered the room, and Victor sat at the table, tinkering with something or another, while Yuuri was lounging on the couch in the living room.

Their days were pretty quiet. Mostly they’d talk, with Victor filling in as many important details he could to make up for Yuuri’s amnesia. His memories still felt like snatches of dreams, lingering just beyond the edge of his consciousness. And like dreams, he felt like the more he chased them, the less tangible they became. But Victor didn’t seem to mind, and was always patient even when Yuuri had to admit he’d forgotten important things.

Of course, Victor had been overjoyed to learn that Yuuri remembered—even if only faintly—the night of their engagement. He had rushed upstairs, rummaged around, and returned with a small box that held Yuuri’s ring. Apparently, it was the only thing left of him after the experiment (apart from some bloody clothes). It had been a tearful event, and it was when Yuuri realized that Victor had been wearing his ring all along, ever since they reunited, and he’d felt awful for not noticing sooner. Of course Victor would have never taken it off.

Yuuri sighed again, looking at his own ring glinting in the light that streamed in through the windows. They were a matching set, with halves of a snowflake engraved on each to signify that they met in winter. Their first official date had consisted of them ice skating, so Yuuri had thought it only right to propose outside their favorite rink one snowy evening. It warmed Yuuri to know he could remember that— _had_ remembered it even when he was stuck as a pseudo-Droid. His subconscious had been trying to access his locked memories all the while, had been fighting to break free.

What would have happened if he hadn’t succeeded?

Yuuri shook his head, trying to rid himself of such thoughts. It was precisely this reason he felt the need to go out, even if it were just for a little while. He needed a change in scenery, a distraction. There was only so much Victor alone could offer, even if their sex life was fantastic.

Filled with resolve, Yuuri stood up. Over the last couple of days, he’d regained function over his legs with the help Victor’s careful training. Time to put it to good use.

Without saying a word, he went over to the show rack next to the door and pulled out one of his coats. He slipped it on along with his boots and a scarf, and by then Victor had realized something was up.

“What are you doing?” he asked, coming out into the foyer, his arms crossed and an unamused look on his face. Yuuri was completely certain Victor could pick him up and toss him back on the couch like a sack of potatoes, but he still stood his ground.

Head held high he declared, “I’m going to the grocery store. I know there’s one two blocks down, and we’re out of ingredients for katsudon.”

“Yuuri, no. I can get you what you need,” Victor said, moving to block the door. But Yuuri beat him to it, his hand flying to the doorknob. Victor had been the one to go out every now and then to get groceries or gather information, and those were the times it was hardest for Yuuri. Trashy TV and web browsing could only pass so much time.

“No,” Yuuri all but yelled. “I’m going to the store, and you’ll either let me go, or you’ll come with me. But _I’m going_.”

Victor looked like he was weighing his options, but he probably knew quite well that if he forcibly dragged Yuuri away from the door, there would be consequences. He let out frustrated groan and ran a hand through his hair, fixing Yuuri with a stare that Yuuri held unflinchingly. Eventually, Victor relented.

“You’re so stubborn, Yuuri Katsuki,” he muttered, reaching into the closet to pull out his own coat and shoes.

Yuuri had to refrain from rolling his eyes. “And the pot called the kettle black.”

“We’re going directly to the store and back, alright?” Victor clarified as he tapped the security panel. “And you’re holding my hand the entire time.” Yuuri could practically hear the pout in his voice.

“Of course,” Yuuri said, threading his fingers with Victor even before they stepped out. Once the door was closed he added, “But we’re also going to the ice cream parlor on the way back—no arguments or you’re on the couch for the next 3 days.”

“ _Yu-uuri!_ ”

 

* * *

 

“So what exactly is the plan? We can’t just sit around all day forever,” Yuuri said, the day after their grocery shop trip. They liked the idea of having meals together, even if they didn’t need them, so they were currently having a dinner consisting of borscht. The previous night had been katsudon after all, and Yuuri had been immensely grateful that his ability to taste hadn’t been impaired.

“The plan is already in motion, dear,” Victor assured him. “We’re going to find out what sick bastard did this to us and why, but we’ve had to wait until now.”

“Why’s that?” Yuuri understood Victor’s desire for revenge, even if he didn’t before. The more he thought about what Victor must’ve been through, the angier it made him. His own torture was meaningless in the face of that, even though it horrified him to think that he’d been operated on while still conscious. It certainly put a damper on his appetite.

“Andrew Durden is his name, and he’s the head of ANOVA’s research division, and the CEO. His name was mentioned dozens of times in the files I stole. He knew what was going on, and he’s probably the one who authorized the whole thing. But he’s been out of the country for months. Just returned last night.” Victor pushed his bowl away, having finished with it.

“Let me guess: we’re going to pay him a visit?”

“‘We?’ Oh, no, darling, you don’t have to come along.”

“I’m not asking permission, Victor. You’re not going to leave me here. We were partners back then, and we’re partners now,” Yuuri said, pushing aside his own bowl and folding his hands neatly in front of him. He knew Victor was weak when he used this particular tone of voice.

Victor looked like he was at a loss, but quickly realized it wasn’t a fight he was going to win. “Fine,” he relented. “But stay close to me.”

“Always.”

 

* * *

 

Durden lived alone (with his wealth) and so they had no qualms about breaking into the man’s house late at night. Dressed simply and armed heavily, it was easy to take out the handful of security guards around the mansion and corner the man in his ostentatious bedroom.

“You’ll tell us what we need to know,” Yuuri started. He wondered if playing good-cop, bad-cop was going work, and if that was the case, which cop he was supposed to be. Because while he had a gun pointed at Durden’s head, Victor had a knife at the man’s neck.

“P-Please, you’ve got it all wrong!” Durden whimpered. He looked to be in his late fifties, balding and overweight. A classic picture, and Yuuri had expected nothing else. He was even using classic lines.

“You’re going to try that route? Really? We have proof you were involved in whatever macabre experiments that were done to us,” Victor said, tightening his grip on the man and placing the flat of knife’s blade right on his neck. “Don’t make us threaten you, Durden. We have really nothing to lose, and we’re not in the system. They’ll never catch us and it’ll just be your body floating in a river, no suspects to be found.”

“Y-You wouldn’t.”

“I repeat: _nothing to lose._ ”

“Okay, okay! Please, I’ll tell you what you need to know if you let me live. Please, I was just under orders.”

“Orders from whom?” Yuuri asked. Victor had been suspicious that Durden was a puppet all along. It didn’t quite make sense that a successful CEO of one of the most prolific Droid companies would risk everything by experimenting on humans. He wouldn’t be crazy enough to risk his fortune like that, and moreover, there was just no _need_ to do such heinous things. Even if it was to get back at hackers who broke into their system, it was just too cruel to be feasible.

“ANOVA’s research division was contracted by someone else for this. Someone with deep pockets. We had the technology and facilities, and they had the funding. Enough to supply us with the latest cybernetics—you know, the stuff you only see as prototypes or in the military—and all the other equipment we needed. That, and enough to buy off or blackmail anyone who would squeal,” Durden explained as Victor loosened his hold just a little. The man still looked terrified, and rightly so.

“What we want to know is why,” Yuuri pushed, taking a step closer with his gun still aimed right at Durden’s head.

“P-Please, I don’t know why. I can’t answer that for you, I can only tell you who’s behind it.”

“Hurry up, before I get impatient.”

“It’s Messervy—Jacob Messervy,” Durden spat out, as though he couldn’t get the name out fast enough. “He’s the one behind it—the one who contacted me about everything. He blackmailed me too, please understand.”

“We understand, Durden,” Victor said slowly, nodding to Yuuri who made his exit from the room. “But we can’t risk you ratting us out, especially now that you’ve seen us.”

Yuuri stepped out and closed the door behind him, not quite having the stomach to witness Victor killing that man in cold blood. He was glad the room was soundproof enough to muffle the short scream that ensued. Even if he couldn’t care less about the man’s life, he didn’t want to see it—not by Victor’s hands.

They’d agreed on it already, well ahead of time. Victor wasn’t keen on Yuuri being present for it either, insistent on not exposing him to such gruesome things. Victor had reasoned that his hands were already dirty, so there was no reason for Yuuri to be sullied too.

Yuuri thought it was bullshit, but didn’t argue.

 

* * *

 

Victor had wanted to call in backup, but in the end decided it would be cleaner with just the two of them getting in and out like last time.

So there they were, in the darkened office of Jacob Messervy, on the top floor of an unnamed building. It was known just as 118 Mallory Way for the intersection it was located on, but everyone in the city knew the place. It was the home of some of the biggest high rollers in the country: media moguls, hedge fund managers, and everyone in between. It wasn’t hard to break in, just like Durden’s place. It just consisted of more disguises, a little camera and elevator hacking, and breaking through the security system on Messervy’s doors. Yuuri was still rusty (but frankly surprised he could make sense of all the code in the first place), but Vitor had gotten through in seconds.

Strangely, Masservy didn’t look very scared at all when they cornered him in his office, and it made Yuuri nervous. He didn’t expect the evil bastard behind all of this to piss himself in terror like Durden nearly did, but this man’s calm arrogance set Yuuri on edge immediately. Still, he alone was not enough to overpower either Yuuri or Victor, and they had made sure to disarm any silent or secret alarms that could cause trouble.

“I wondered if you’d come back,” he said, hands behind his head as instructed. His voice sounded as sleazy as the rest of him looked. His suit was well-fitted but still looked _off_ on him. His hair was greased back, and he had a gold watch on his thick wrist that somehow matched his sardonic smile. “I heard about the mess that was made at ANOVA’s lab earlier this month. You seem to excel in murder.”

“Isn’t that what you made us for? To be your personal mercenaries? Only you never got the control over us you wanted,” Victor spat. All their cybernetically-enhanced abilities could really only serve one purpose in the hands of the rich and powerful.

“Indeed.” Yuuri wanted to scream at how calm Messervy was, but he just held his ground, gun pointed at the man and ready to fire at a moment’s notice. “I never thought my creations would get away from me though—an unfortunate oversight.”

“We’re not your creations! We’re humans whose lives you stole!” Yuuri yelled, anger spiking in his veins, setting him alright with fury. Did this man think he could play with their lives so carelessly? That just because they were orphans, no one would bat an eye if they went missing so he could get away with it all?

“Ah, so it’s you,” Messervy said slowly, turning to look at Yuuri. “I remember you.”

Against his better judgement, Yuuri lowered his gun ever so slightly, just so he could get a better look at this man who’d taken so much from him—his humanity included.

“You were the who stole from me—do you know? Maybe you don’t,” Messervy continued, his tone as steady and calm as always. “I heard you memories and personality were completely destroyed by the project. They tried to hide the fact from me, told me you died in the middle of the procedure, and shipped you off so that I wouldn’t find out. How inelegant. Durden was always a coward—and yes, I suspect you’re the ones responsible for his ‘shocking suicide’ that I’ve heard about. Good riddance, I say. He was a fool for thinking I wouldn’t find out what happened.”

“Tell us why you did all of this. That’s why we’re here—that’s what we want to know.” Yuuri forced his own voice to be as steady, unwilling to show even an ounce of emotion other than anger in front of this man.

“Is it, now? I suspected as much. Fools, both of you. You should’ve ran away with your friends. They were smart. Why risk so much just to know what happened?”

“For the truth. We want to know why you did this to us, and we want  _ you _ to know that we’re going to expose you,” Victor said. “We have proof of everything you did, and we’ll tell the whole world the truth about what happened.”

“You young, naive things,” Messervy laughed—actually laughed. “You think the world will care about truth? No, the world  _ runs on lies _ . But you want the truth? I’ll tell you.” Masservy turned back to Yuuri, looking him up and down before continuing. “You stole millions from me, years ago. Probably just another one of your hits, but it almost ruined me entirely. I ran a security firm in addition to my other companies. And a security firm being hacked and cheated out of that much money and information? Humiliating. I was the laughing stock of the industry for years after that—took me ages to recover my losses. But I told myself that one day, I’d get the sweetest revenge on you  _ and _ you little clan, Eros. That’s what you went by, isn’t it? Left your calling card in our system so everyone would know it was you.”

Yuuri remembered.

Yuuri remembered hacking Mass Corp., Messervy’s giant conglomerate, and specifically targeting the security division. He thought it would be most fun—the most symbolic. They’d all agreed on it, and Yuuri had rooted into their system so fast he remembered Victor kissing him in victory on their way out. In minutes he’d broken past Mass Corp’s defenses, siphoned off millions to their own offshore account, and as a final gesture left behind his calling card on their system’s mainframe—all signed with  _ Eros _ , his alter-ego. He’d broken his own rule of getting in and out without leaving a trace, all because of hubris.

Maybe he should’ve been punished for his sins, but  _ not like this _ . 

It was so unthinkably cruel, to turn an unwilling human into a science experiment for the sake of revenge.

“That’s why you did all this?” Yuuri asked, incredulous. He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around it. “Because you were mad I stole some money from you and hurt your pride? You have  _ billions _ .”

“I don’t expect you to understand,” Messervy said, his expression darkening.

“For revenge you wanted to turn us into your personal killing machines, so we’d be powerless to do anything other than what you wanted. Just so you could have the last laugh?”

“It would have been so poetic, wouldn’t it?” A smile spread across his face, so sickening that Yuuri felt ill just looking at him. What a disgusting man. Yuuri almost felt sorry for him because one wrong word, and Yuuri would have no qualms ending his pathetic life once and for all. “And you, Eros, would have been such a pretty little toy.”

_ SPLAT _ —

Yuuri didn’t realize he’d pulled the trigger until he saw the smoke from the silencer. He’d done it without thinking, not wanting to hear anything more come out of that insane man’s mouth. For a moment, he felt like he was trapped in a daze, a hazy in-between where everything felt viscous and unreal.

Victor called out his name, snapping him back into the real world.

“Is he dead?” Yuuri heard himself say, still feeling a bit like he was suddenly underwater. There was a spray of blood and brain matter on the window behind Messervy, and the man was limp in his chair, his eyes and mouth both open in shock. Yuuri hadn’t even really heard the gun go off at all.

“Yes,” Victor said carefully. He came over to Yuuri, pulling the gun out of his tight grip, and set it carefully on the table, safety back on. “Are you okay?”

But the horrible part was: Yuuri  _ was _ okay. He was more than okay. He felt a sense of relief and finality to the whole situation.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Good riddance.”

Victor pulled him into a quick embrace. “I didn’t want you to have to get your hands dirty.”

“My hands were already dirty, Victor. We were criminals before all of this—not angels. Even if we never hurt anyone directly, we weren’t innocent.”

“No, I guess we weren’t,” Victor sighed, looking back at Messervy. “Let’s set this scene up and leave before someone realizes we’re here.”

Yuuri tugged at Victor’s jacket as he started to walk away, stopping him for a second. “When we walk out of here, let’s leave everything behind. All our anger, all our hate. Let’s let it die with this man.”

Victor nodded. “Alright. A fresh start, for both of us. Let’s go see our family afterwards.”

“Yeah. I miss them.”


	9. Epilogue

**_[Scion News Network]_ **

**_March 17, 2139_ **

_Posted by_ _Tyrell Mathos_ _, Contributor_

_Shocking news reports say that the widely-known Mass Corp and ANOVA Industries were involved in heinous human experiments. Authorities and news networks, including SNN, received several files that implicate Mass Corp’s CEO Jacob Masservy as the mastermind behind these shocking experiments, having contracted ANOVA. However, both he and ANOVA’s Andrew Durden were found the other day to have committed suicide, possibly because they knew these reports were going to come to light._

_Authorities are still trying to determine the validity of these anonymously-delivered files, but official investigations have been launched into both companies. For now, it is believed hacktivists are behind this expos é. Whoever they are, they’ve brought to light something truly unbelievable, and have started discussions world-wide. _

_The identity of the victims of these crimes seem to have been censored, and their whereabouts—if they are alive—are unknown._

_[Continue reading…]_

 

“It’s all everyone’s talking about,” Leo said, tossing his phone to the side of the couch. On the TV was a similar report, the newscaster expressing her condolences for the victims.

“Yeah. They’re alright though, aren’t they?” Guang-Hong was hugging a pillow tightly, chewing on his lip nervously.

Phichit showed them his phone, the screen open to a text message from a restricted number. It read:

_Everything’s okay. We’re with our family now, and we’re free. We’ll continue to watch over you and your friends, just in case. Take care. —Y_

“Yeah. They’re okay. I hope they find the happiness they deserve after all this.” Phichit knew he’d never see Yuuri again, but he felt relieved to know that his friend was with people who knew and cared about him. It was the best outcome he could hope for, and in time, maybe Victor would get the justice he’d wanted, too.

 

* * *

 

It was a perfect day on the beach. It was partly cloudy, the sun not as scorching as it could have been. Though it wasn’t too much of a problem. The last time Victor got sunburnt, he’d healed before the night arrived. Yuuri had yelled at him, but this time had taken it upon himself to slather on sunscreen across Victor’s back.

“You shouldn’t be so careless. We probably can’t get skin cancer or anything, but it still awful to see you as red as a lobster,” he chided lightly, rubbing the lotion in carefully. They were sitting in the sand, facing the ocean. The waves crashing to shore gently and tickling their toes.

“My Yuuri, always taking such good care of me,” Victor sighed dreamily. He grabbed Yuuri’s hand as it reached his shoulder, pressing a kiss into the knuckles even if it tasted a little like sunscreen. “But you have to promise to let me return the favor.”

Yuuri huffed, blushing. He looked so beautiful it was almost painful for Victor to look at him. Warm, sun-kissed skin, wind-tousled hair, and lips made rosy by Victor pressing many, many kisses into them.

The others were somewhere behind them. Yurio and Otabek were working on what they claimed would be _the greatest sand castle of all-time_. Mila and Sara were reading trashy romance novels and giggling to each other. Emil was trying to get Mickey to join him, Chris, and Masumi in a 2v2 volleyball game.

It was bliss, and Victor was determined to enjoy it while it lasted. Maybe one day they could settle down somewhere, but for now they were nomads.

“What are you thinking about?” Yuuri asked him quietly.

“We’ll never be the same,” Victor said. He didn’t want to ruin their perfect day with his brooding.

Yuuri hugged him from behind, wrapping his arms around him tightly. Sometimes, Victor felt like Yuuri’s embrace was the only thing holding him together.

“That might be true, but at least we have each other. They can’t take this from us ever again.” Victor turned around, dragging Yuuri forward so he could hold him in his arms, comfortable in his lap. Freckles were starting to bloom across the bridge of Yuuri’s nose, like they did when he was out in the sun too long. Victor leaned in, pecked him lightly on the tip of his nose, relishing in Yuuri’s little giggle.

“You’re right.”

“I always am.”

**Author's Note:**

> I found it very difficult to end this, but I hope it was somewhat satisfying. It was my very first attempt at real smut, too, so I hope it was alright. Thank you everyone for reading this! Check out the other amazing fics from this Big Bang, too!
> 
> Come talk to me on [Tumblr](https://nyerus.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/nyerus10)!


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